The President of Poland wants to cut social aids for Ukrainian refugees who do not work: “I intend to fulfill my obligations”

The President of Poland presented plans to limit the access of Ukrainians to children's allowances and medical services, proposing a prohibition on glorifying a Ukrainian nationalist leader from the 20th century, reports Reuters.

Poland was one of Ukraine's hardest supporters in the Russian invasion of 2022, but some Poles began to be tired of the large number of refugees, and the tensions between Warsaw and Kiev, related to the massacres in Volânia during World War II, sometimes came to the surface.

Official data show that about 1.5 million Ukrainian citizens are currently living in Poland.

President Karol Nawrocki, a conservative nationalist inspired by US President Donald Trump, promised this year's election campaign to put “Poles on the first place” and limit the rights of foreigners in Poland.

“I did not change my opinion and I intend to fulfill my obligations, and I think that the allowance (for the family) should only be granted to those Ukrainians who make the effort to work in Poland, as well as on medical services,” he said Monday.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry did not respond immediately to the comment request.

How much money do Ukrainian refugees receive in Poland

Ukrainian refugees are currently eligible to receive the monthly family allowance of 800 zlots ($ 219) per child, if their children attend Polish schools. Other EU countries, such as Germany, have recently proposed to reduce benefits.

In Poland, the president can propose bills and can block the law of the government by veto. The executive, currently led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a pro-EU centrist, opponent of Nawrocki, may also block the president's proposals, which can create a political impasse.

The other measure proposed by the President of Poland is targeting a national hero for Ukrainians

Nawrocki also proposed the tightening of the Criminal Code on Monday to prohibit Stepan Bandera, a Ukrainian nationalist leader who fought against both the Nazis and the Soviets during World War II. The draft law also concerns the paramilitary force led by the band.

“I believe that this draft law should refer clearly to the band and equate the banderistic symbol in the Criminal Code with the symbols corresponding to the German nationalism, commonly known as Nazism, and Soviet communism,” said Nawrocki.

Many Ukrainians consider the band and militia that he has led as heroes of resistance against the Soviet Union and symbols of the painful struggle of Kiev for independence from Moscow.

But for inhabitants of Poland, it remains a symbol of anti-political violence. The banner is associated with the Ukrainian insurgent army (UPA), which Warsaw states that he committed massacres in Polish civilians in 1943-44, especially in Volânia.

Thousands of Ukrainians also died in subsequent reprisals.

The public promotion of Nazi, fascist or communist ideas is sanctioned with up to 3 years in prison according to the Polish Criminal Code.