KYIV (Reuters) – The Ukrainian and Polish presidents commemorated the anniversary of the massacres of Poles by Ukrainian nationalists during World War Two on Sunday. These killings have been a major source of tension between the two allies.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Warsaw has positioned itself as one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters.
However, the Volhynia massacre, in which historians estimate tens of thousands of Poles lost their lives, continues to cast a shadow over the relationship between the two nations. The significance of this event has grown leading up to the July 11th anniversary – one of the bloodiest days during the series of killings that occurred from 1943 to 1945.
During a memorial service in the western Ukrainian city of Lutsk, television footage captured Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda at a church on Sunday.
According to Polish historians, up to 12,000 Ukrainians were also killed in retaliatory operations by Poland.
Duda’s office expressed solidarity in a tweet, stating, “Together we pay tribute to all the innocent victims of Volhynia! Memory unites us! Together we are stronger.”
Earlier this year, the massacre led to a public dispute between Poland and Ukraine when a Polish foreign ministry spokesman demanded that Zelenskiy apologize and seek forgiveness for the events. However, tensions eased in May when Ukraine’s parliament speaker, Ruslan Stefanchuk, acknowledged Poland’s pain in the Polish parliament.
On Friday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki visited western Ukraine to honor the victims.
The Polish parliament asserts that the killings, carried out between 1943 and 1945 by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists under the leadership of Stepan Bandera, constitute elements of genocide.
Ukraine does not accept this assertion and frequently refers to the Volhynia events as part of a conflict that impacted both nations.
(Reporting by Max Hunder in Kyiv and Alan Charlish in Warsaw; Editing by Alison Williams, William Maclean)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
