Volhynia Massacre Memorial
On July 11, Poland commemorates the Volhynia Bloody Sunday, the day in 1943 when Ukrainian nationalist militants of the UPA attacked around 100 Polish villages in the Volhynia and Galicia regions, killing tens of thousands. This tragic event remains a solemn memorial day in Poland, CE Report quotes PAP
President Andrzej Duda emphasized on social media the importance of facing difficult truths to build honest Polish-Ukrainian relations and called for respectful joint commemoration of the victims. Incoming president Karol Nawrocki condemned the attacks as crimes and urged Ukraine to allow systematic exhumations of the massacre victims as a step toward reconciliation.
The Polish and Ukrainian governments recently agreed to resume exhumations, which had stalled amid disagreements over the UPA’s historical role. Ukraine’s foreign ministry expressed shared grief while also honoring Ukrainian victims of violence and repression during the period.
Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz stressed the need to confront the painful past with truth and respect to heal wounds and build a better future.
Historians estimate about 100,000 Poles were killed in the massacre, with thousands of Ukrainians dying in Polish reprisals by 1945. The shared history remains a sensitive and crucial part of ongoing dialogue between the two nations.
