Poland expels 63 foreigners, most of them Ukrainians, after incidents during a concert. What “insulting” symbols have been displayed

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on Tuesday the initiation of procedures for the expulsion of 57 Ukrainians and 6 Belaruși following incidents during a concert of the Belarus Max Korj rapper on the National Stadium in Warsaw, where disturbances took place and the Ukrainian nationalist flags were exhibited.

Speaking at a press conference in Warsaw, Prime Minister Tusk said that the events during the concert held on August 9, who “shocked public opinion”, required the adoption of this measure, as “disorders, aggression and challenges” require a “rapid reaction”.

He also emphasized the need to “prevent proliferation of anti-Ukrainian feelings” and urged Kiev authorities not to tolerate “useless anti-pole gestures.”

The Polish prime minister argued in this context that Russia “does everything possible to cause a confrontation between Kiev and Warsaw”, as a negotiated conclusion of the Ukraine war, and described the “anti-political gestures of the Ukrainians and inciteing anti-Ukrainian feelings in Poland” as a “Scenary”.

What happened at the Warsaw concert

The concert of Max Korj, popular among the numerous community of immigrants and refugees Belaruși and Ukrainians in Poland, coincided with a mark of five years since the protests against President Belarus Aleksandr Lukașenko and attracted an audience that bought in only five days all 60,000 available tickets.

But during the concert there were a series incident, including the violation of the security areas, and after an intervention of the police that led to 109 arrests, numerous people who owned drugs, knives and pyrotechnic materials, as well as counterfeit tickets were discovered.

The controversy has intensified due to the exposure of the red and black flags of the Ukrainian insurgents (UPA), a nationalist group associated with the massacres committed during World War II in the Volume region, where about 100,000 Polish civilians died. Poland considers those massacres as an act of genocide and historical resentments continue to cause diplomatic disputes between Warsaw and Kiev.

Former Ambassador of Poland in the US, Marek Magiewski, expressed his “indignation” against the “insulting” display of these flags by “hundreds of Ukrainians at the age of recruitment” in the army.

We have Deeply Disturbed by the recent display of the flag of the ukrainian insurgent (UPA), Responsible for the Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia Dury WW2, at a concert last saturday at the national stadium in Warsaw.

The IPN Condemni the… pic.twitter.com/eb4s5vo0rh

– Institute of National Remembrance (@ipngovpl_eng) August 11, 2025