Poland marks Volhynia massacre anniversary amid diplomatic rift with Ukraine

· Diplomacy POLUKR
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Poland on Saturday marked the 83rd anniversary of the Volhynia massacres, with senior officials travelling to memorial sites as the commemorations unfolded against a backdrop of strained relations with Kyiv.

Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz paid tribute to victims in Volhynia, while President Karol Nawrocki honoured the dead in Radruż. Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced plans for a new monument in Warsaw featuring a memorial wall and eternal flame. The observances fall on Poland's national day of remembrance for the genocide, marked each year on 11 July — the date in 1943 when Ukrainian Insurgent Army partisans launched coordinated attacks on hundreds of Polish villages.

Tensions deepened after Zelenskiy honoured a military unit with a UPA-linked name in late May, prompting Poland to revoke his Order of the White Eagle.

Story development

  1. Ukraine to open secret service archives on Volhynia massacres in thaw with Poland
  2. Poland marks Volhynia massacre anniversary amid diplomatic rift with Ukraine

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