‘Secret agreement’ Duda-Zelenskyy? Former president responds to historian’s allegations

A dispute has emerged over alleged secret historical agreements between Ukraine and Poland, with historian Professor Grzegorz Motyka claiming a pact existed between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and former Polish President Andrzej Duda. Motyka, director of the Military Historical Bureau, stated in a TVN24 interview that the alleged agreement from January 2022 involved mutual restraint on historical issues. He expressed shock that Duda allegedly did not include a ban on exhumations in this pact, deeming it a significant oversight.

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I don't know where Professor Motyka got such information, I state unequivocally and firmly that no such agreement existed. The professor is drastically mistaken.

Motyka's comments were made in the context of Poland's reaction to a Ukrainian combat unit being named after the "Heroes of the UPA," a sensitive historical issue for Poland due to the massacres of Poles in Volhynia during World War II. Motyka suggested that revoking Zelenskyy's Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest decoration, would be a misstep.

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In Ukrainian internet, an opinion was presented that in January 2022, a secret agreement was concluded between Zelenskyy and Duda, where both, in short, promised that they would be restrained in historical matters. Why does this shake me? Because President Duda, by concluding the agreement, did not include in it a ban on exhumations, and this speaks very badly of President Duda.

Former President Andrzej Duda strongly refuted Motyka's claims, calling them a drastic misrepresentation of the truth. In a written statement, Duda asserted that no such agreement was ever made. He emphasized that historical matters, including exhumations and proper commemoration of victims, were consistently highlighted in his dialogues with both Petro Poroshenko and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Duda pointed to a joint visit with Zelenskyy to commemorate the victims of the Volhynia massacre in Lutsk in July 2023 as evidence of their commitment to addressing difficult historical issues.

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President Zelenskyy knows perfectly well what the attitude of Poles towards the UPA and OUN is, although on the other hand, one must be aware (which is lacking in Polish society) that the matter is historically nuanced. But this is a task for experts to develop a path of action acceptable to both sides.

Duda further stated that Zelenskyy is fully aware of Polish sentiment towards the UPA and OUN, while acknowledging that the historical context is complex and requires expert analysis for a mutually acceptable path forward. He expressed confidence in his successor, Karol Nawrocki, a historian and former head of the Institute of National Remembrance, to professionally handle future conflicts with Ukraine.

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This is precisely why President Zelenskyy, together with me, commemorated the victims of the Volhynia massacre with a joint visit, prayer, and symbolic lighting of candles in the Lutsk Cathedral on July 9, 2023.