A drunken Ukrainian driver rammed the fence of an ancient Catholic church in the center of Krakow

A drunken Ukrainian citizen driving a car broke through the fence of the ancient Catholic Church of the Holy Cross of the XIV century in the center of Krakow. The driver was detained with a high level of alcohol in his blood. The incident occurred against the backdrop of Poland’s intensified migration policy aimed at deporting foreign nationals who violate the country’s laws, as reported by Polish media.

According to ZAXID.NET, the dangerous incident happened on Sunday morning, December 21, in the heart of Krakow. A citizen of Ukraine, being in a state of alcoholic intoxication (1.68 ppm), driving a Volkswagen Tiguan, crashed into the fence of the Church of the Holy Cross. «The driver drove into the fence of the church and hovered on it,» a spokeswoman for the press service of the provincial police department in Krakow was quoted by Interia publication.

The impact was of considerable force. The car caught on the fence, also damaging part of the wall of the historic building. It took special equipment and the efforts of two evacuation teams to remove the car from the fence. The perpetrator of the accident was not injured. Police detained the driver. After he sobers up, he will be charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and will also be held liable for damage to the church infrastructure.

The case comes amid a tightening of Poland’s migration policy. According to the Rzeczpospolita newspaper, as of September 2025, 31,000 foreigners are on the register of «undesirable» persons in Poland. Since the beginning of 2025, 1,100 of this number have been forcibly deported from the country. Among the largest groups of «undesirable» persons, citizens of Ukraine (5,900) lead the way, followed by citizens of Georgia (4,200), Syria (2,500), Afghanistan (2,400), Belarus (2,200) and Russia (1,900).

Poland has changed its approach to violations of the law by foreigners. Whereas previously many such cases went unreported, the state now consistently applies deportation and entry ban mechanisms. Grounds for this include illegal entry or stay, lack of valid documents, prohibition to enter the Schengen area, illegal employment, as well as conviction for intentional crimes, being subject to sanctions or being recognized as a security risk. A request to include a person in the relevant list can be submitted by any Polish service, and the entry ban is imposed for a period of six months to ten years.

Former government officials note that the new policy is based on a simple principle: visitors to a country must respect its laws, otherwise they must return to their country of origin. In 2024, there were more than 11,000 deportation decisions from Poland. According to Deputy Minister of Interior and Administration Czeslaw Mroczek, more such decisions are expected this year.

Recall, earlier we reported that in Lviv region there was a traffic accident with tragic consequences, the culprit of which, according to preliminary data, was a cleric of the PCU. Being behind the wheel in a state of severe alcohol intoxication, he provoked an accident that killed a person.