Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced a breakthrough decision on the exhumation of Polish victims of crimes committed by CNS-UPA. "Finally a breakthrough. There is simply a decision about the first exhumations of Polish UPA victims. I thank the Ministers of Culture of Poland and Ukraine for their good cooperation. We are waiting for further decisions," wrote the Prime Minister on X (formerly Twitter). This information marks the beginning of fresh talks and activities which have been blocked by the Ukrainian side for years. Information on the alleged breakthrough was commented by the president of the IPN “we already had many specified breakthroughs”.
The hard past of the exhumation of Volyn victims
For many years the anticipation of conducting search and exhumation work in Ukraine has been the subject of disputes. The Ukrainian side argued that all actions must be preceded by a regulation of commemorations for UPA members in Poland. This conflict was peculiarly visible in the context of the Volyn massacre, the genocide which was the victim of tens of thousands of Poles from 1943 to 1944.
Search and exhumation works are an crucial component of Polish historical policy. Among the key objectives is to discover the burial sites of the victims and to give them appropriate commemoration. The erstwhile blockade of these actions by the Ukrainian side was a major obstacle for Poland to commemorate thousands of murdered citizens.
Finally a breakthrough. There is simply a decision about the first exhumations of Polish UPA victims. I thank the Ministers of Culture of Poland and Ukraine for their good cooperation. We're waiting for more decisions.
— Donald Tusk (@donaldtusk) January 10, 2025
List of Ukrainian graves and monuments in Poland
As part of preparations for the Polish-Ukrainian negotiations, the Polish government began work on the inventory of Ukrainian graves and monuments located in Poland. According to “Newsweek”, the Head of the Council for Cooperation with Ukraine, Paweł Kowal asked the voivodships of Podkarpackie and Lublin to draw up a detailed list of specified places.
" Bearing in head the ongoing preparatory work for the next circular of Polish-Ukrainian talks on the regulation of search and exhumation work in Ukraine, the Council on cooperation with Ukraine prepares an opinion on the possible demands of the Ukrainian side on the issue", Kowal wrote in a letter cited by the newspaper.
The collected data on the legal position of graves and monuments, together with photos, are to service as a basis for future talks with Ukraine. This process can become an crucial part of negotiations that will let the exhumation to resume in Ukraine.
Volyn genocide: historical context
The Volyn massacre is 1 of the most tragic events in the past of Polish-Ukrainian relations. Between 1943 and 1944 Ukrainian nationalists from the OUN-UPA made a series of mass murders on the Polish civilian population surviving in Volyn and east Galicia. The victims, estimated at 50-120 grand, were brutally killed during organized extermination operations.
Although this crime was considered genocide by the Polish Sejm in 2016, its commemoration and explanation of the full scope of events inactive raises controversy. For many Poles, the initiation of exhumation of victims is simply a key step in restoring justice and historical truth.
IPN president comments
Recently, Karol Nawrocki, president of the Institute of National Memory and the Pisovian presidential candidate with a murmured past, referred to the agreement concerning the exhumation in Volyn, concluded by Radosław Sikorski and Andrij Sybiha, describing them as a "necessary leap by the chief of Polish diplomacy".
"We at the Institute of National Memory have already experienced respective possible breakthroughs in this matter, so for me the enthusiasm of the head of Polish diplomacy was premature" - he said. However, he assured that the IPN was ready to support the government's efforts to exhume the victims in Volyn, stressing the importance of the Polish interest.
The presidential candidate declared that as the head of state he would put clear expectations of partnership treatment before Ukraine, including allowing the burial of Polish victims. "Our financial, civic and military effort, which helped Ukraine, would like to meet with partner treatment on the Ukrainian side and the anticipation of burying our women and children," he said.
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Tsuk announces a breakthrough on the exhumation of Polish victims of Ukrainian Nazis CNS-UPA
