Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the establishment of a national memorial to commemorate the victims of the ‘genocide committed by Ukrainian nationalists’ during World War II.
Tusk was speaking on the anniversary of what Poland calls a “genocide” in Volhynia, a Polish enclave in German-occupied Poland now known as Volyn and part of Ukraine. Warsaw says about 100,000 Poles were killed by the Ukrainian rebels (UPA) between 1943 and 1945.
Warsaw and Kiev have been in conflict for decades due to tragic events.
Many people in Ukraine see the UPA as heroes who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Soviet Army, Nazi Germany, and Polish authorities.
“The truth is our duty to the victims, and it is also a way to overcome the painful past for a better future,” Tusk said in a speech Saturday.
“Memory cannot be the servant of hatred. The answer to nationalism cannot be nationalism.” The Polish prime minister urged Ukraine to “accept this truth” if it wants to one day join the European Union.
Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was stripped of Poland’s highest state honor over his decision to name Ukraine’s military after the UPA amid a diplomatic row between the two countries.
Polish President Karol Nabrocki said action must be taken, but stressed the lawsuit would not affect his country’s support for Ukraine as it continues to fight a full-scale Russian invasion starting in 2022.
Three former Ukrainian presidents later returned the White Eagle award to Poland in solidarity with Zelensky.
“Representatives of the Ukrainian state participated in joint prayers with their Polish counterparts in both countries to commemorate the victims of Volyn’s murder,” Prime Minister Zelenskyy said in a video address late Saturday.
“Ukraine is doing its part to honestly reveal the facts about those who were killed.
“Ukraine and Poland have one common threat, a fatal threat to our independence, to our state, to every city, to every village, and this threat is called Russia,” the Ukrainian president said.
