The head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office has arrived in Warsaw for government talks, following Polish diplomatic protests over a Ukrainian military unit being named after the UPA.
Diplomatic visit amid rising tensions
The Chief of the Ukrainian Presidential Office may arrive in Warsaw within hours, according to Onet journalist Kamil Dziubka. Shortly thereafter, Polsat News reporters confirmed that the aide to Volodymyr Zelensky is already in Poland to meet with government representatives, with the naming of a Ukrainian unit after the UPA expected to be a key topic.
Poland’s stance on the UPA
Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz recently issued a statement regarding the decision to name the Separate Center for Special Operations “North” after the Heroes of the UPA. He noted that this move has caused deep pain and opposition in Poland, calling for a reconsideration to avoid wounding the memory of Polish victims.
The minister acknowledged that while some Ukrainians view the UPA through the lens of fighting Soviet oppression and seeking symbols of resilience against Russian imperialism, Poles do not see the UPA as a neutral symbol of freedom. Instead, for Poles, it remains a symbol of crimes committed against defenseless civilians.
The Volhynian Massacre
The genocide occurred in Volhynia, Eastern Galicia, and the eastern Lublin region. According to the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), organized attacks on Polish villages began in February 1943 and continued until 1945, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 100,000 to 130,000 Poles. Ukrainians who warned their Polish neighbors of the danger also became victims.
Kosiniak-Kamysz emphasized that entire families and villages were murdered, leaving many victims without graves or memorials. He stated that this pain cannot be invalidated, noting that genocide is genocide and the memory of the victims cannot be subject to political compromise.
Exhumations in Ukraine
The IPN reported that the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture has authorized exhumation work in Ostrówki and Wola Ostrowiecka, where over 1,000 Poles were victims of a 1943 UPA pacification action. Searches are also set to begin on June 8 in Huta Pieniacka, the site of a 1944 pacification that killed approximately 850 people.
According to IPN investigations, the pacification in Huta Pieniacka was carried out by Ukrainian soldiers of the 4th SS Police Regiment of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, along with a local UPA unit and a paramilitary detachment of Ukrainian nationalists.
