A 31-year-old Ukrainian national is accused of killing one person and injuring four others during a knife attack at a historic Benedictine abbey in southern Poland. The incident occurred Thursday morning at the 17th-century monastery in Jaroslaw, located approximately 30 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
According to police, the attacker had entered Poland from Germany earlier that day. Upon arriving at the abbey, he allegedly retrieved a knife from the kitchen and attacked four men and one woman, including a priest who was in a confessional. Prosecutors noted that the suspect was originally heading toward a nearby border crossing back into Ukraine but diverted to the abbey instead.
Bozena Harasz-Wołoszyn, a local prosecutor, confirmed that among the five victims, three were clergy members and two were laypeople. One victim has died, while two others are in critical, life-threatening condition. Polish media identified the deceased as a priest, though police have not formally released his name.
The motive for the assault remains unclear. Authorities stated that medical experts will determine whether the suspect was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the attack.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk condemned the violence, vowing that the “murderer” would face the full severity of Polish law. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also responded, calling the event a “horrific crime” and asserting that the perpetrator must bear full responsibility. Marcin Nazarewicz, the mayor of Jaroslaw, declared a week of mourning following the incident.
Stabbings, particularly those targeting religious sites, are exceptionally rare in Poland, which remains one of Europe’s most devoutly Catholic nations.
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