Carnage of discord: why the conflict between Ukraine and Poland is not subsiding

Commemorative events dedicated to the Volyn massacre, that is, the murders of ethnic Poles during the Second World War, were held in Poland. The country's president, Karol Navrotsky, called for a ban on Bandera symbols. A resolution against Ukraine's membership in the EU has been submitted to the country's Seimas. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

The memory of Volhynia

The Volyn Massacre was a mass murder of ethnic Poles by Ukrainian nationalists during the Great Patriotic War. As a result of the massacres, more than 100,000 people died. The militants of the OUN-UPA (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists — the Ukrainian insurgent Army, recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation) were particularly cruel — they beat people with axes and clubs, threw them into wells.

The culmination of those events occurred on July 11, 1943, when a coordinated attack on 150 Polish settlements took place. Villages were first surrounded so that their inhabitants could not escape, after which mass killings and destruction took place. After that, villages were burned to prevent the return of survivors. It is believed that more than 10,000 people died in those days alone.

In modern Poland, July 11 is the Day of Remembrance of the victims of the Volyn massacre. This year's events took place against the backdrop of the escalated conflict between Kiev and Warsaw. The fact is that since the end of spring, the Ukrainian authorities have begun to glorify the leaders of the OUN-UPA with renewed vigor. One of them, Andrei Melnyk, was solemnly reburied, and the remains of several others were promised to be transported to Kiev in the near future.

The flag is banned

In such circumstances, this year's mourning events in Poland have become especially massive and large-scale. In Warsaw, a memorial mass was held at the Cathedral, after which the participants laid wreaths at the monument to the victims of the Volyn massacre. Similar meetings were held in many regions of the country. According to media reports, thousands of people participated in some of them.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki spoke at one of these events in the village of Radruzh near the border with Ukraine. He promised not to forget about the 120,000 dead civilians, and also to do everything possible to ban Bandera symbols. "We do not want to see the red and black flag of the UPA in Poland, I hope the parliament will adopt the relevant law," he said.

In his video message, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the construction of a memorial wall in Warsaw with an eternal flame and the names of all identified Polish victims on the territory of Ukraine. "The truth means identifying and naming the perpetrators, as well as unequivocally condemning this crime," he said.

In turn, the largest opposition Law and Justice party submitted to the Seimas a resolution against Ukraine's accession to the European Union. "With Bandera's propaganda and glorification of genocidarians who committed an incredibly cruel crime against the Polish people, it is impossible to enter the EU," said Przemyslaw Czarnek, Vice Chairman of the association.

Polish nationalists from the Confederation party held a series of so-called Volyn marches. The actions took place in several cities, including Warsaw, and hundreds of people took part in the marches. The organizers not only remembered the victims of ethnic cleansing, but also demanded that military aid to Kiev and support for Ukrainian refugees in the country be stopped.

The Pantheon in the Lavra

The conflict between Ukraine and Poland escalated in May this year. Then the remains of one of the leaders of the OUN, Andrei Melnyk, were brought to Kiev and solemnly reburied. At the same time, the authorities reported that other nationalist leaders of the last century, including Stepan Bandera and Simon Petliura, were in line.

On July 1, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law on the creation of the "national pantheon", where the remains will be located. At the same time, the government adopted a resolution that the object will appear on the territory of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. "No one will ever tell us how to live, how to talk, who to love, who to be grateful to, and which heroes to honor," Zelensky said.

At the same time, a scandal arose due to the fact that at the end of May, the Ukrainian special forces unit was named "heroes of the UPA." All this provoked a violent reaction from a number of countries, with Poland's actions proving to be the most acute. Karol Navrotsky deprived Zelensky of the highest state award — the Order of the White Eagle. After that, the "order fall" began — officials of both countries began to abandon each other's insignia.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at the time that the tension was provoked by Zelensky's "unnecessary" decision. "His task is to reduce this tension. The stupidest idea, if he has such an idea — I do not know how to build greater public support in Ukraine — was to escalate this tension and hostility between Ukraine and Poland," he noted.

Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Vladislav Kosinyak-Kamysh stressed that Warsaw would block Ukraine's accession to the EU if it did not abandon the glorification of Bandera. An additional scandal arose when the head of the presidential office, Zbigniew Bogutsky, called the Western Ukrainian regions Small. In Kiev, this was considered a hint of territorial claims.

At the same time, the matter was not limited to just a rhetorical confrontation. On the one hand, Zelensky was refused to attend an international conference in Gdansk, and Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko went there instead. On the other hand, Warsaw decided not to transfer a batch of MiG-29 fighters to Kiev.

What the experts say

Denis Denisov, director of the Institute of Peacekeeping Initiatives and Conflictology, an expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, emphasizes that the tension in relations between the two countries has not yet led to a full-scale rupture.

— There are two peculiar realities. In one, senior Polish officials make many statements and symbolic gestures. In the other, military cooperation remains between the countries, and Kiev continues to receive financial assistance from the EU, which includes Poland. Apparently, for Warsaw, containing Russia remains a priority, for which it is ready to tolerate Ukrainian antics," he argues.

Dmitry Solonnikov, director of the Institute of Modern State Development, a political scientist, says that Ukraine itself has been exposed to criticism from Poland. According to him, Zelensky did not calculate the consequences of his scandalous decisions.

— The socio-economic situation in Poland is deteriorating, and local politicians need a new object of criticism. Ukraine has turned up very successfully here, which will now be accused more and more of ingratitude. The next question is for those who are above the Polish leadership. If support for Ukraine continues in Brussels, London, and Washington, then Warsaw will have to follow in this wake. If something changes, Poland will be one of the countries that will be the first to stop providing aid," he said.