Old Massacres Ignite Polish-Ukrainian Feud, Threatening EU Bid and Aid

The historical memory of the Volhynia massacres, where around 100,000 Polish civilians were killed by Ukrainian nationalists in 1943, has resurfaced to strain relations between Poland and Ukraine. This dispute threatens to undermine Ukraine's bid for EU membership and the crucial Western military aid it relies on.

The conflict ignited in May when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy named a military unit after the UPA, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. This move sparked outrage in Poland, where the UPA is widely seen as having collaborated with Nazis and committed genocide. Polish President Karol Nawrocki responded by revoking the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest honor, which Zelenskyy had received in 2023.

In response, three former Ukrainian presidents announced they would return their Polish orders. Zelenskyy declared his intention to build a monument to Ukrainian historical figures, including Stepan Bandera, a controversial nationalist leader. "No one will dictate to us which heroes we honor," he stated. The escalating tensions were evident when Zelenskyy conspicuously avoided a recent international conference in Poland discussing Ukraine's reconstruction.

The current friction contrasts sharply with the strong alliance that emerged after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which saw millions of Ukrainians flee to Poland and the country become a vital transit point for Western arms. The renewed historical dispute now casts a shadow over this vital partnership.

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No one will dictate to us which heroes we honor.