Most Poles support admitting Ukrainian refugees shows poll

Sixty-eight percent of Poles in a survey by the University of Warsaw said Poland should continue taking in war refugees from Ukraine, while 5 percent spoke out against further admissions.

Fifty-five percent believed Poland should not raise welfare support for Ukrainians above the present level.

The percentage of people who admitted their attitude to Ukrainian refugees had changed increased by 6 percentage points to 31 percent compared to the previous survey, with the majority of them, 85 percent, admitting that their change was towards negative (up 17 percentage points).

Asked why their attitude had changed, 39 percent named the Ukrainians' "sense of entitlement."

Eighty-five percent said Poland should continue supporting Ukraine in its defensive war against Russia.

The survey's authors note that although most Poles (67 pct) still show a positive attitude towards Ukrainian refugees, the percentage of positive thinkers has fallen a whole 13 percentage points. At the same time, they said, the percentage of Poles with a negative view of them has risen from 8 to 13 percent.

The computer-assisted survey was run from May 23 to June 6 on a random sample of 584 Poles aged 16-65.