Krakow Shelter for Ukrainian Refugees Struggles to Stay Open as Hostility and Funding Cuts Mount

KRAKOW, Poland — When Nastya Podorozhnya’s family members escaped the conflict in Ukraine for neighboring Poland, volunteers greeted them with warmth and generosity.

Podorozhnya, 29, was already residing in Poland when hostilities escalated. However, just days before Russia’s full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, she returned to Ukraine to help her sister and nieces flee the country.

Upon arriving back in Poland amid the wave of refugees in the initial days of the conflict, she observed both the remarkable generosity of Polish volunteers and a troubling vulnerability: Ukrainian women seeking assistance from unfamiliar individuals risked becoming targets for human traffickers.

This realization prompted her to establish Martynka, a helpline and support network specifically for female Ukrainian refugees fleeing gender-based violence.

Four years on, she is fighting to sustain the organization. Support funding for refugees has declined sharply, hostility toward Ukrainians has intensified, and Poland still has not implemented a comprehensive long-term integration strategy. As public fatigue with the war grows, some politicians are capitalizing on anti-refugee sentiment for electoral purposes.

These shifts are directly affecting organizations like Martynka. While fundraising efforts garnered significant support during the war’s early months, international donors have since redirected their resources toward other global emergencies.

Martynka’s shelter, concealed within an unassuming two-bedroom apartment in central Krakow, has provided refuge to more than 100 women and children. Residents receive assistance in escaping abusive situations and accessing medical care, psychological services, employment opportunities, and stable housing.

“It often begins with me sitting in this very kitchen, having tea with the women as they share their experiences, and I tell them ‘sister, I’ve been there too,'” Podorozhnya explained to The Associated Press during an interview at the Krakow shelter, alluding to her own experience of being attacked on a street in Poland in 2016.

As Podorozhnya and her team work tirelessly to secure sufficient funding to maintain the shelter’s operations, she reports that appeals for donations frequently provoke waves of vitriolic online harassment.

“It’s because I’m Ukrainian,” she stated.

Approximately 3.5 million Ukrainians fled to Poland within the first weeks of the conflict, according to United Nations data. Polish citizens welcomed them at train stations and offered them accommodation in their own homes, while authorities granted refugees access to employment and social welfare benefits.

Both nations share a painful historical legacy of Russian oppression, and Poland continues to serve as a crucial ally to Ukraine in the ongoing war.

By the end of 2022, the Ukrainian refugee population in Poland had stabilized at roughly 1 million individuals. Those who remained quickly integrated into the labor market, with over 70% securing employment, and a Deloitte study estimated that they contributed 2.7% of Poland’s gross domestic product in 2024.

Beyond the refugee population, more than 1 million Ukrainians had already been living in Poland prior to the conflict, primarily as economic migrants.

Ukrainian refugees have increasingly become targets of hostile rhetoric. In research published this year, Ukrainian migrants surveyed by Olena Babakova, a scholar at Warsaw’s Vistula University, identified the 2025 Polish presidential campaign as the period when anti-Ukrainian sentiment intensified, noting that it emerged as a recurring theme across the political spectrum, not merely among far-right parties.

Karol Nawrocki, representing the national-conservative platform and who ultimately secured the presidency, pledged to introduce legislation that would prioritize Polish citizens over Ukrainians in accessing public services. Meanwhile, liberal candidate Rafał Trzaskowski proposed limiting child welfare benefits for Ukrainians.

As tensions escalated, historical grievances between the two nations resurfaced.

In June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy decided to designate a military unit after a Ukrainian paramilitary organization implicated in massacres of Poles during World War II, provoking strong condemnation in Poland. Nawrocki responded by revoking a state honor previously awarded to Zelenskyy, further heightening bilateral tensions.

“It’s not merely negative sentiment—Ukrainians are genuinely subjected to hostile exchanges and physical attacks,” Babakova told the AP.

According to Polish police statistics, 180 Ukrainian citizens had fallen victim to prejudice-motivated crimes by mid-July, a substantial increase compared with 275 for all of 2025 and 267 in 2024.

Following numerous media reports of Ukrainians being assaulted on Polish streets during the summer months, Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated in late July that “we must wage war on violence and hatred.”

The Polish government has been systematically reducing support for Ukrainian refugees, asserting that many have achieved stability in their circumstances.

Poland’s ombudsman has cautioned that these policy changes disproportionately impact the most vulnerable populations, including single mothers with multiple children, elderly individuals, and those suffering from chronic illnesses or disabilities. Since most Ukrainian men of military age, between 23 and 60, are prohibited from leaving the country, single mothers are significantly overrepresented among the refugee population.

Yuliia Repenko from the Ukrainian House indicated that her organization, which provides assistance to Ukrainians, was “increasingly supporting individuals who face heightened vulnerability to social exclusion.”

The Polish government has defended its decision to curtail aid to Ukrainian refugees. Katarzyna Nowakowska, Poland’s deputy minister for family, labor and social policy, told the AP that the most vulnerable applicants continue to receive direct state assistance, and that other refugees requiring support should approach social workers.

As the Polish government has been withdrawing its support, international assistance has also diminished, further constraining available resources. Data from the U.N. refugee agency indicates a steady decline in funding from international donors for Ukrainian support since 2022, with only half of the agency’s identified needs met this year, compared with 94% in 2022.

“Financial supporters have moved on from helping Ukrainian refugees, but the war continues unabated,” said Sonia Novytska, a Martynka helpline worker. “If anything, it has become more lethal since its beginning.”

Martynka fielded approximately 1,800 requests for assistance last year, and staff anticipate that this figure will rise, according to Novytska. The helpline now receives inquiries not only from violence victims, but also from mothers struggling to provide basic necessities and shelter for their children.

“What Poles need to recognize is that we are assisting people who would otherwise end up homeless in their neighborhoods, individuals who might turn to substance abuse out of desperation when they cannot make ends meet,” Podorozhnya stated.

“Martynka performs the functions that should be handled by the Polish state,” she declared.

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