76-year-old detained after Ukrainian woman struck twice on head with walking stick in Gdynia

The attack

On Thursday, 30 July, around 15:30, a 40-year-old Ukrainian woman was walking down steps on Żelazna Street in Gdynia when an unknown man approached from behind and struck her twice on the back of the head with a wooden walking stick. The attacker then fled in an unknown direction. The woman was taken to Gdynia Municipal Hospital, where she received medical treatment. After examinations, she was discharged; her life was not in danger.

Victim's account

A short video of the injured woman sitting on the pavement, visibly distressed and bleeding, was sent to the local news portal Trójmiasto.pl and circulated on social media. In the recording, she described the assault.

“I don't know who he was. I was walking, and he was behind me. He hit me twice.”

Asked what she was struck with, she said only that it was "hard, terribly hard."

Investigation and arrest

Police from the Gdynia Oksywie station launched an investigation, classifying the incident as bodily harm. Officers secured evidence and analysed footage. On Saturday, 1 August, criminal investigators from the Gdynia Municipal Police detained a 76-year-old Polish man suspected of the attack. The District Prosecutor's Office in Gdynia took over the case ex officio.

Police assessment

From the outset, police cautioned that the available information did not support suspicions of a hate crime. Aspirant Marek Kobiałko, press officer of the Gdynia police, stated that the attacker did not shout any insults or slurs at the woman. "Our findings so far do not indicate that the incident was a crime motivated by national prejudice," the police said in a statement. They added that further procedural steps were underway.

Broader context

The attack occurred against a backdrop of reported violence toward Ukrainians living in Poland. At a Council of Ministers meeting the previous week, Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed the issue.

“We must wage a decisive war against this violence. Pathological violence against Ukrainians has political patronage.”

Local media have noted that reports of physical assaults on Ukrainian citizens reach the police almost daily.