Ukrainian citizen kills one or two priests in knife attack at Polish Benedictine monastery
A 31-year-old Ukrainian citizen attacked people with a knife at the Benedictine sisters' monastery in Jarosław, southeastern Poland, on the morning of 24 September, killing at least one priest and injuring five other people. Polish police arrested the suspect at the scene and seized the weapon, a knife taken from the monastery kitchen. The motive is unknown and under investigation.
Key points
- Attack occurred at approximately 09:30 local time on 24 September at the Benedictine sisters' monastery in Jarosław, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland.
- Suspect is a 31-year-old citizen of Ukraine, named in reporting as Igor M., detained by police at the scene.
- One or two priests were killed — Father Stanisław Zbojnowicz in earlier reporting, later reporting also naming Father Marek Pieńkowski.
- Five people were injured: four men (including three priests) and one woman; three were reported in very serious or critical condition.
- The weapon was a kitchen knife taken from the monastery grounds; prosecutors denied early reports that it was a machete.
- Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the suspect would be punished with the full severity of Polish law; Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński confirmed immediate detention.
- The Ukrainian Embassy in Poland condemned the attack and called for an objective investigation; President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed shock and said the perpetrator must face full legal responsibility.
Why it matters
A Ukrainian national is the suspect in a deadly knife attack against clergy in a neighbouring NATO and EU state, an incident that both Polish and Ukrainian officials have publicly addressed at the highest level. Two priests were reported killed and three of the five injured are in very serious condition, making this an unusually severe attack on a religious site. With the motive still unknown and a Polish mayor publicly labelling the event a probable terrorist attack, the case carries diplomatic, security and political implications for Polish-Ukrainian relations already strained by a previous August knife attack in Wrocław and negative public-opinion polling.
What happened
On the morning of 24 September, at around 09:30 local time, a 31-year-old Ukrainian citizen attacked people with a knife on the grounds of the Benedictine sisters' monastery (abbey) in Jarosław, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland. Five people were injured — one woman and four men, including three priests — and at least one priest, Father Stanisław Zbojnowicz, was killed, with later reporting also naming Father Marek Pieńkowski among the dead. Police from the Jarosław County Police Headquarters detained the suspect at the scene and seized the weapon, which prosecutors said was a kitchen knife taken from the monastery grounds, denying earlier reports that it was a machete. According to investigators, the suspect had entered Poland from Germany that same day, was heading toward the Korczowa border crossing but did not cross it, did not speak Polish, and was not a resident of Jarosław; a blood sample was taken to test for alcohol and drugs. A motive had not been established at the time of reporting, and the investigation is being conducted by police and the District Prosecutor's Office in Przemyśl.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian-language coverage foregrounds the official Ukrainian-state response to the attack, leading with the Embassy of Ukraine in Poland's condemnation of the incident, its expression of condolences and its call for an objective, lawful investigation. Multiple Ukrainian outlets highlight President Volodymyr Zelensky's public expression of shock and his demand that the perpetrator face full legal responsibility, framing the story as much as a consular and reputational matter as a crime report. Ukrainian headlines stress the suspect's Ukrainian citizenship and the diplomatic, embassy-level reaction, and some outlets characterise the attack in stark moral terms while emphasising cooperation with Polish authorities.
How international sources describe it
The single non-Polish international agency source, from Azerbaijan's APA, reports the attack more briefly and factually, focusing on the nationality of the attacker, the location and the casualty count, without the diplomatic-statements layer prominent in Ukrainian coverage. Polish-side reporting, which constitutes the bulk of the international detail gathered here, emphasises Polish official reactions — Prime Minister Donald Tusk's promise of full-severity punishment, Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński's confirmation of detention, and Jarosław Mayor Marcin Nazarewicz's 'probable terrorist attack' framing and call for vigilance. That coverage also foregrounds investigative detail (entry from Germany, knife from the monastery kitchen, denial of machete reports) and names the slain priests, and gives voice to opposition politicians demanding disclosure of motives.
Where reporting differs
Sources differ on the number killed: earlier reporting said one priest died, while later reporting named two — Marek Pieńkowski and Stanisław Zbojnowicz. Reporting is also inconsistent on whether the total casualty count was four injured plus one killed, or five injured with no fatalities. The weapon was initially reported as a machete in some early accounts, but the prosecution stated it was a kitchen knife taken from the monastery. Witnesses said the attacker specifically targeted priests, repeatedly stabbing them with a long knife, but prosecutors had not officially confirmed that targeting at the time of reporting.
Background
The attack took place at the Benedictine sisters' monastery in Jarosław, which also houses a kindergarten; children present were not harmed. According to investigators, the suspect entered Poland from Germany on the day of the attack, was heading toward the Korczowa border crossing but did not cross it, did not speak Polish, and was not a resident of Jarosław. The weapon was a knife taken from the monastery kitchen. On 1 August 2026 an 18-year-old Ukrainian attacked a Polish woman with a knife in Wrocław, an incident Polish police classified as attempted murder, and an IBRiS poll cited 67.2% of Poles supporting the deportation of Ukrainian men without legal work; some reporting frames the Jarosław attack against this backdrop of deteriorating Polish-Ukrainian relations.