Tusk announces a memorial for the victims of the Volhynia massacre

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on Saturday the creation of a national memorial dedicated to the victims of what he called the "genocide committed by Ukrainian nationalists" during World War II. The announcement comes on the anniversary of the Volhynia massacre, which has poisoned relations between Warsaw and Kyiv for decades.

On July 11, the anniversary of the Volhynia massacres, Donald Tusk spoke at commemorative ceremonies held in Warsaw and several other Polish cities. Poland estimates that approximately 100,000 ethnic Poles were killed between 1943 and 1945 by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) in this territory, then under German occupation, now known as Volyn and part of Ukraine.

“The truth is our duty to the victims, but also a way to overcome a painful past for a better future,” the Polish Prime Minister declared. He added that “memory cannot be used to fuel hatred” and that “the answer to nationalism cannot be more nationalism.” Tusk also urged Ukraine to “embrace this truth” if it ever hopes to join the European Union.

The UPA issue deeply divides the two countries. In Ukraine, this organization is widely seen as a resistance movement that fought for national independence against the Soviet army, Nazi Germany, and the Polish authorities.

Diplomatic tensions between Warsaw and Kyiv escalated further last month when Polish President Karol Nawrocki withdrew from Volodymyr Zelensky Poland's highest state award. The decision followed the Ukrainian president's choice to name a Ukrainian military unit after the UPA. Nawrocki clarified that this measure would not affect Poland's support for Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion launched in 2022. In response, three former Ukrainian presidents returned their own Polish award, the White Eagle, in a show of solidarity with Zelensky.

In a video address broadcast Saturday evening, Zelensky stated that "representatives of the Ukrainian state participated in joint prayers with representatives of the Polish state" in both countries to commemorate the victims of Volyn. He affirmed that Ukraine was "doing its part to honestly establish the facts about those killed during those years." The Ukrainian president concluded by reiterating that both nations face "a common and deadly threat to our independence," referring to Russia.