Ukraine-Poland Joint Commemoration of Volyn Tragedy Highlights Historical Tensions and Cooperation

On July 11 2024, the Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Volyn tragedy, Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland Vasyl Bodnar placed a wreath at the monument in Volyn Square, Warsaw. The ceremony, attended by Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, marked a joint act of remembrance and reaffirmed Kyiv’s commitment to collaborative exhumation work and professional dialogue between historians.

United24 MediaKyiv IndependentAmbassador of Ukraine to Poland honored the memory of the victims of the Volyn tragedy in Warsaw

The Volyn massacres of 1943–1945 remain a flashpoint in Polish-Ukrainian relations. Since 2016, Poland has officially designated the killings as a “genocide committed by Ukrainian nationalists” against Poles, while Ukraine frames the events as a two-sided tragedy that also claimed thousands of Ukrainian lives. The controversy intensified after President Volodymyr Zelensky named a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) on May 26 2024, prompting Polish President Karol Nawrocki to revoke Zelensky’s honorary Order of the White Eagle.

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• May 26 2024 – Zelensky names a unit after the UPA, sparking diplomatic backlash.

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• July 3 2024 – Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha proposes “anti-crisis steps” during a visit to Poland.

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• July 7 2024 – Zelensky meets Nawrocki, their first in-person conversation since the dispute began.

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• July 11 2024 – Bodnar’s wreath-laying ceremony; Zelensky delivers an evening address announcing accelerated exhumations.

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• July 13 – August 7 2024 – Planned joint Ukrainian-Polish exhumation operations in the villages of Ostrivky and Volia Ostrovetska in Ukraine’s Volyn region.

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• The peak of the massacres on July 11 1943—known as “Bloody Sunday”—resulted in an estimated 8,000 Polish deaths.

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• Overall, tens of thousands of civilians were killed between 1943 and 1945.

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• The upcoming exhumation phase will involve Ukrainian archaeologists and Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance working together over a 26-day period.

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Ukraine’s embassy emphasized that “the dignified commemoration of each victim is a shared duty of the Ukrainian and Polish peoples” and reiterated Kyiv’s aim to “establish the full historical truth, continue search and exhumation works, and foster professional dialogue among historians.” Polish officials highlighted the need for healing, with the defense minister stating that addressing the past is essential for any reconciliation. Zelensky, in his July 11 address, pledged to accelerate search operations and framed the joint remembrance as a response to a common “mortal threat” posed by Russia.

Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland honored the memory of the victims of the Volyn tragedy in Warsaw

Polish President Nawrocki called for a ban on the historical UPA red-and-black flag, while Law and Justice (PiS) politician Przemyslaw Czarnek introduced a parliamentary resolution opposing Ukraine’s EU accession until the Volyn issue is resolved. The European Parliament criticized Zelensky for “unprovoked escalation” against Poland and urged immediate de-escalation.

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Sources differ on the characterization of the 1943 events: Poland labels them genocide, whereas Ukraine describes them as a mutual tragedy within a broader Polish-Ukrainian conflict. Ukrainian officials also warned that Russia is preparing an information campaign to exploit the dispute, a claim not independently verified in the provided material.

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• “For us today it is important and our duty not only to honor this memory, to remember history, but also to work so that the future is free of problems, so that the future is shared, in our common European home,” — Vasyl Bodnar, Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland

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• “I am here not to reopen the wound in any way, but to let it heal,” — Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, Polish Defense Minister

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• “We are submitting a draft parliamentary resolution opposing Ukraine's membership in the European Union due to the glorification of the perpetrators of the Volyn massacres,” — Przemyslaw Czarnek, PiS politician

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• “Ukraine is doing its part to honestly establish the facts about those killed in those years: search operations are being carried out where there were villages and where the dead were. Ukraine is interested in accelerating them. Exhumation operations will begin in two days in the villages of Ostrivky and Volia Ostrovetska.” — Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine

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• “Do not cause pain; do not glorify those who inflict pain and suffering on your friends,” — Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, proposing an “11th commandment” during his speech

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Joint exhumation work commences on July 13 2024 and runs through August 7 2024, with both governments monitoring the process for transparency. Ukrainian and Polish officials have indicated a willingness to continue “anti-crisis” diplomatic measures, while Polish legislators are expected to debate Czarnek’s resolution in the coming weeks.

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