Ukraine War: What Young Poles Think about Their Nation’s Role

In a recent article for The Conversation, Félix Krawatzek and Piotr Goldstein present the results of their current research on young Poles' political attitudes in times of war.
The survey, in which 2,000 young Poles aged 16 to 34 took part, shows that public opinion among young people in Poland towards Ukrainian refugees has changed. The number of those who support a temporary status for refugees has increased from 42% to 52%, yet only 25% of young Poles want Ukrainian refugees to have long-term integration opportunities in Poland. Additionally, fewer young people now want their government to support Ukraine in the war, down from 83% in 2022 to 65% in 2023. The survey also showed that while 60% of young Poles support offering humanitarian aid to Ukraine, only 2% want the national army to be involved in the conflict and only 28% want to provide weapons. With the rise of the far-right party, Konfederacja, advocating for Poland's neutrality in the conflict, the upcoming parliamentary elections will reveal whether this political shift will continue.