And this inevitably affects the upcoming elections in Poland (summer 2023). Lukasz Warzeha, a columnist for the conservative magazine Do Rzerzy, believes that “for the first time in modern Polish history since 1989, inflation and the energy crisis are the first topics” on the election agenda.

“The shadow of the war covers all of Poland,” says Bohuslaw Grarata, editor-in-chief of the historical newspaper Rzeczpospolita, recalling that Warsaw is about two to two and a half hours away from the Polish-Ukrainian border.

All this predicament allows the Russians to take advantage of the weariness of the Polish society and try to turn it into a propaganda tool. Still unsuccessful. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland now has a very well organized department to combat fake news and disinformation. Competent diplomats with whom we met say that an attempt is now underway to create an image of the “Ukrainization” of Poland. “Ukrainians are stealing our jobs”, “the number of rapes has increased because of Ukrainians”, “they bring diseases” and other fakes that this group undertakes to identify and disprove using various tools, technological and non-technological.

Behind this hard struggle of endurance is an entire civil society that supports the refugees. The PCRM Foundation is located somewhere in the center of Warsaw and is responsible for the education of 220 Ukrainian children aged 5 to 15. Students stay at school from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm as most parents work. There are countless stories told by Poles and Ukrainians working in these structures. All of them have a common denominator: despite the difficulties, the solidarity of the Poles with their neighbors was not opportunistic. And, unfortunately, it looks like it will be tested again in the coming months.