Bus driver arrested in Bielsko‑Biała after verbal hate attack on Ukrainian girls

On 11 July 2026 a passenger in a municipal bus in Bielsko‑Biała shouted vulgar, xenophobic insults at two Ukrainian girls aged 11 and 13. The aggressor, a 54‑year‑old man employed as a driver by the local transport company MZK but on long‑term sick leave, was identified from video recorded by a fellow passenger and from the bus’s surveillance system. Police detained him the same day; prosecutors have charged him under article 257 of the Polish Penal Code for public humiliation on the basis of nationality, with a possible sentence of up to three years in prison. MZK terminated his employment and secured the monitoring footage as evidence. The incident has been condemned by Polish interior minister Marcin Kierwiński and Ukrainian foreign minister Andrij Sybiha, who highlighted the need to combat hate‑motivated violence. The case has sparked a wider discussion about rising anti‑Ukrainian sentiment in Poland.