A Ukrainian citizen studying at the Catholic University of Lublin announced an online challenge to kill random people out of racial hatred. Polish police quickly arrested him.
The 21-year-old criminology student, identified as Yaroslav F., allegedly planned to kill a random person as part of an online challenge called “Bloody Friday.” University staff learned of his plans and immediately informed the police.
At a press conference, Marcin Kozak, a representative of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Lublin, explained the case. During seminars, Yaroslav F. openly praised crimes, including racially motivated attacks. He also said he planned to kill random people as part of the “Bloody Friday” online challenge. Moreover, he allegedly tried to persuade a female student to take part in the crime.
Investigators found that the suspect had three knives. He regularly carried one of them. He kept two specialized throwing knives in his apartment. Police arrested him last Friday while he was working as an app-based taxi driver. Officers intercepted him during a shift.
Investigators also found that the young man had been “motivating himself to commit the crime” by watching videos on Telegram. The material reportedly showed torture and people being hurt. Police examined two phones and a laptop seized from him. Their analysis confirmed that he had deliberately searched online for this type of content. The prosecutor’s office also has evidence that Yaroslav F. tried to arrange a joint murder with another person. He allegedly offered that person a knife.
Yaroslav F. denied the charges. During questioning, he gave an account that disputed the facts established by investigators. According to the prosecutor’s office, he had not received psychiatric treatment before the case. Other students described him as quiet and calm.
The Lublin-Zachód District Court approved the prosecutor’s request and ordered the suspect to remain in pretrial detention for three months. He faces charges of preparing to commit murder for reasons deserving particular condemnation and out of racial hatred. The crime carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
Confederation’s Reaction: What Was Not Said
Attempts to find direct comments from Polish politicians in the Confederation party specifically about the Yaroslav F. case yielded no results in the available sources. However, representatives of the party have spoken out about similar incidents involving Ukrainian citizens in Poland. They have used such cases to criticize the government’s migration policy.
For example, Confederation leader Krzysztof Bosak called for a discussion of crime statistics among foreigners during an appearance on Polsat News. In earlier statements to the Do Rzeczy news portal, he described the government’s policy as “absurd.” He claimed that Ukrainian passport holders could enter Poland without difficulty and that the authorities did not even check their criminal records.
The Confederation’s official website has also published material comparing the authorities’ responses to two separate cases. One involved a 76-year-old Pole suspected of attacking a Ukrainian woman. The other involved an 18-year-old Ukrainian accused of attacking a Polish woman with a knife. The posts pointed to a “difference in approach” and asked: “Which of these people poses a greater danger?”
