Polish PM Declares National Memorial to WWII Genocide—Diplomatic Tension Escalates
Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that Poland will create a national memorial dedicated to the victims of what Poland calls a genocide carried out by Ukrainian nationalists during the Second World War.
The statement was made on the anniversary of the Volyn massacre, which the Polish government cites as having taken place in the territory then occupied by Germany, now part of Ukraine, and which reportedly resulted in the loss of approximately 100,000 ethnic Polish lives under the actions of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army between 1943 and 1945.
Poland and Kyiv have long had differing narratives about the tragedy, with the former maintaining that the UPA also killed thousands of ethnic Ukrainians, while many in Ukraine view the insurgent forces as heroic defenders of national independence against Soviet, Nazi, and Polish authorities.
Following the stripping of Poland’s highest state honour from President Volodymyr Zelensky last month and a diplomatic row around the naming of a Ukrainian army unit after the UPA, Tusk underscored the importance of truth and reconciliation for a future toward European Union participation, warning that “memory cannot be the servant of hatred.”
Polish President Karol Nawrocki stated that the national action was necessary, but that Poland would maintain its support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, even amid the current dispute. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the move as a strategic mistake.
Three former Ukrainian presidents subsequently returned their White Eagle awards to Poland to show solidarity with Zelensky, and in a video address, Zelensky spoke of joint prayers with Polish officials to honor those killed in the Volyn killings.
He added that Ukraine will continue to truthfully establish the facts of that era, affirming that shared challenges now lie against the threat of Russia to both nation’s sovereignty.
