Called "Banderite scum": former deputy minister convicted in Poland for insulting Ukrainians

In Poland, former Deputy Minister of the Treasury Krzysztof Tołwiński has been found guilty of inciting hatred against Ukrainian citizens. The Polish publication Do Rzeczy reported this on Monday, April 27.

In 2022, Tołwiński posted messages on social media in which he insulted Ukrainians, calling them “Bandera scum” and “primitives,” and called for their expulsion from Poland. The court ruled that his statements constituted hate speech on national grounds.

It was emphasized that the prosecutor’s office had closed the case against Tołwiński twice, but it was brought to court thanks to a complaint filed by the victim, who was assisted by human rights defenders.

The defense attempted to justify Tołwiński’s actions by citing “historical context,” but Marek Rymarski, a judge at the District Court in Białystok, ruled that they incited hostility.

He refused to admit guilt and claims that the court’s verdict is “political.” The court’s decision has not yet taken effect and may be appealed.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, in March in Lviv, blogger Oleksii Myronenko insulted a clinic employee who asked him to switch to the official language. The language ombudswoman intervened in the conflict.

As a reminder, in December 2025, the language ombudswoman proposed increasing penalties for violations of the law on the Ukrainian language.