Ukrainian refugee aid worker in Poland warns of donor fatigue and rising hostility
Nastya Podorozhnya runs a small shelter in Krakow for Ukrainian women and children, but funding cuts and growing anti-Ukrainian sentiment are threatening her services.
Nastya Podorozhnya fled back to Ukraine two days before the Russian invasion to assist her family, later establishing a shelter in Krakow that now houses around 100 women and children fleeing abuse and trafficking. Her organization, named after her niece Martynka, runs a hotline that receives roughly a hundred calls each month and provides counseling in four languages. Funding, once bolstered by USAID, has dwindled, compelling the team to scale back individualized therapy sessions.
UNHCR’s acting representative Jun Shirato noted that the agency’s staff in Poland has shrunk from 120 to 40 and three regional offices have closed. Meanwhile, Polish public attitudes have hardened, with new restrictions on benefits and a one-third rise in hate-crime reports, while Russian-operated bots amplify anti-Ukrainian rhetoric. Despite these challenges, Podorozhnya remains committed to supporting refugees and hopes to sustain her work.
Why it matters
The story highlights how dwindling aid and rising hostility jeopardize support for vulnerable Ukrainian refugees in Poland.
How the sides frame it
LOW AGREEMENTLeft-leaning coverage emphasizes a surge in violent attacks on Ukrainian refugees and the resulting fear and self-defence, while centrist coverage centers on an aid worker’s warning about dwindling donor support and broader rising hostility.
LEFT
Frames the story as an escalating wave of attacks on Ukrainian refugees in Poland that fuels fear and prompts self-defence measures.
CENTER
Frames the story as a humanitarian aid worker’s warning about donor fatigue and increasing hostility that threatens assistance for refugees.
The left emphasises
- steady rise in attacks targeting Ukrainian refugees
- incidents recorded on video underscore verbal and physical hostility
- Ukrainian women report daily harassment and join self-defence courses
Possibly left out
- Left-leaning coverage reports specific assault incidents, absent from centrist coverage
- Centrist coverage reports donor fatigue and funding cuts, absent from left-leaning coverage
In this story
