Ukraine and Poland exchange lists of sites for exhumation of Volhynia Massacre victims
Ukraine and Poland have exchanged lists of sites for the search and exhumation of victims of the Volyn Massacre, Andriy Nadzhos, Deputy Minister of Culture of Ukraine for European Integration, told Polish news agency PAP on Jan. 11.
"Kyiv is interested in positive solutions to this issue. We are positive about reaching good solutions that will satisfy Polish and Ukrainian societies," Nadzhos said.
The official told PAP that Ukraine views Poland as a "very important strategic partner." Issues of historical memory are "important for Polish society, so Ukraine does not want to politicize them."
"We understand the concerns of Polish society, just as Polish society understands the needs of Ukrainian society," he added. “Therefore, by agreement between the leaders of the two countries [Polish President Andrzej Duda and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy], bilateral working groups have begun their work.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Jan. 10 that there have been initial decisions regarding the exhumation of Polish victims of the Volhynia Massacre.
During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Dec. 17, Tusk noted "obvious progress" in historical issues between Poland and Ukraine.
On July 24, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz suggested that Warsaw could not agree to Ukraine's EU accession until disputes over the events in Volhynia during WWII are resolved.
The Polish news portal Onet reported on Sept. 19, citing its sources, that the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs planned to use Ukraine's EU aspirations as leverage in the coming months, particularly regarding the exhumation of Volhynia Massacre victims.
On Sept. 24, President Duda criticized Kosiniak-Kamysz's statement, describing it as part of Russian President Vladimir Putin's political strategy. Duda later emphasized the need for a breakthrough in "problematic" historical issues but stressed that it should not come from "rude blackmail."
On Oct. 1, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha expressed Ukraine's readiness to discuss contentious historical issues with Polish counterparts.
The foreign ministers of Poland and Ukraine, Radosław Sikorski and Andrii Sybiha, issued a joint statement during a meeting in Warsaw on Nov. 27, confirming Ukraine's commitment to facilitating search and exhumation work on its territory.
The Volhynia Massacres occurred in 1943, when the Polish Home Army and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army carried out, according to Ukrainian researchers, mutual ethnic cleansing of Poles and Ukrainians. As a result, over 100,000 Poles and 40,000 Ukrainians were killed in Volhynia. Witnesses of those events noted the brutal methods used by both sides.
The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.
Just as an army needs soldiers, so does a free society need its journalists to ensure that people have access to honest, trustworthy voices to understand the world around them.
For the past five years, The New Voice of Ukraine has been working tirelessly to push back against Russian narratives and defend democracy. But we cannot do it alone.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon for just $5 a month – your donation does directly to supporting journalists and ensuring that this front of the infowar says solid and defended.
Thank you.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
