Hyperbolizing local conflicts to label the West as “hostile” to refugees

What it claims

Isolated incidents of street violence or domestic disputes involving Ukrainians abroad are portrayed as systemic hatred and a hunt for refugees. This coverage aims to convince citizens that only danger and contempt from Europeans await them outside Ukraine.

Target audience

Examples (paraphrased)

We paraphrase rather than quote: propaganda's exact wording is built to spread, so we carry the claim and not the craft. Each example cites the post it came from.

• In Gdynia, Poland, an unknown man supposedly brutally attacked a Ukrainian woman simply because he heard her speaking her native language.

  Open Ukraine| Открытая Украина, 31 Jul 2026

  t.me/OpenUkraine/100791

• Polish society is becoming increasingly aggressive toward refugees, as evidenced by cases of causing grievous bodily harm for speaking Ukrainian.

  Open Ukraine| Открытая Украина, 31 Jul 2026

  t.me/OpenUkraine/100791

We link archived copies rather than the posts themselves, so that checking our work sends no traffic to the source. Where a platform cannot be archived, we print the post's address instead of linking it.

Goal

To provoke a sense of isolation and insecurity among Ukrainians, undermining solidarity between Ukraine and its neighbors, particularly Poland.

Techniques used

• Exaggeration or MinimisationPresenting a criminal incident in Gdynia as proof of general Polish hostility toward the Ukrainian language.

The real grievance it exploits

The genuine fear refugees have of xenophobia and physical vulnerability in a foreign country where they may not know how to access legal protection.

How to counter

• Technique exposure: Notice how isolated crime reports are scaled up to the level of “interethnic strife.” Crimes happen in any society, but propaganda uses them to destroy trust between nations.

Sources (all time)

• MediaKillerTier 1109,398 subscribers
  1 post · 3 Aug 2026

  • 3 Aug · t.me/MediaKiller2021/24007
• Open Ukraine| Открытая УкраинаTier 1181,397 subscribers
  2 posts · 31 Jul – 5 Aug 2026

  • 5 Aug · t.me/OpenUkraine/100959
  • 31 Jul · t.me/OpenUkraine/100791
• Политика СтраныTier 1330,911 subscribers
  1 post · 4 Aug 2026

  • 4 Aug · t.me/stranaua/243966