Latest news with #VolynMassacre
Al Jazeera
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Genocide or tragedy? Ukraine, Poland at odds over Volyn massacre of 1943
Kyiv, Ukraine – Nadiya escaped the rapists and killers only because her father hid her in a haystack amidst the shooting, shouting and bloodshed that took place 82 years ago. 'He covered me with hay and told me not to get out no matter what,' the 94-year-old woman told Al Jazeera – and asked to withhold her last name and personal details. On July 11, 1943, members of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UIA), a nationalist paramilitary group armed with axes, knives and guns, stormed Nadiya's village on the Polish-Ukrainian border, killing ethnic Polish men and raping women. 'They also killed anyone who tried to protect the Poles,' Nadiya said. The nonagenarian is frail and doesn't go out much, but her face, framed by milky white hair, lights up when she recalls the names and birthdays of her grand- and great-grandchildren. She also remembers the names of her neighbours who were killed or forced to flee to Poland, even though her parents never spoke about the attack, now known as the Volyn massacre. 'The Soviets forbade it,' Nadiya said, noting how Moscow demonised the UIA, which kept fighting the Soviets until the early 1950s. Nadiya said her account may enrage today's Ukrainian nationalists who lionise fighters of the UIA for having championed freedom from Moscow during World War II. After Communist purges, violent atheism, forced collectivisation and a famine that killed millions of Ukrainians, the UIA leaders chose what they thought was the lesser of two evils. They sided with Nazi Germany, which invaded the USSR in 1941. In the end, though, the Nazis refused to carve out an independent Ukraine and threw one of the UIA's leaders, Stepan Bandera, into a concentration camp. But another UIA leader, Roman Shukhevych, was accused of playing a role in the Holocaust – and in the mass killings of ethnic Poles in what is now the western Ukrainian region of Volyn and adjacent areas in 1943. Genocide? Up to 100,000 civilian Poles, including women and children, were stabbed, axed, beaten or burned to death during the Volyn massacre, according to survivors, Polish historians and officials who consider it a 'genocide'. 'What's horrifying isn't the numbers but the way the murders were carried out,' Robert Derevenda of the Polish Institute of National Memory told Polskie Radio on July 11. This year, the Polish parliament decreed July 11 as 'The Volyn Massacre Day' in remembrance of the 1943 killings. 'A martyr's death for just being Polish deserves to be commemorated,' the bill said. 'From Poland's viewpoint, yes, this is a tragedy of the Polish people, and Poland is fully entitled to commemorate it,' Kyiv-based analyst Igar Tyshkevych told Al Jazeera. However, rightist Polish politicians may use the day to promote anti-Ukrainian narratives, and a harsh response from Kyiv may further trigger tensions, he said. 'All of these processes ideally should be a matter of discussion among historians, not politicians,' he added. Ukrainian politicians and historians, meanwhile, call the Volyn massacre a 'tragedy'. They cite a lower death toll and accuse the Polish army of the reciprocal killing of tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians. In post-Soviet Ukraine, UIA leaders Bandera and Shukhevych have often been hailed as national heroes, and hundreds of streets, city squares and other landmarks are named after them. Evolving views and politics '[The USSR] branded 'Banderite' any proponent of Ukraine's independence or even any average person who stood for the legitimacy of public representation of Ukrainian culture,' Kyiv-based human rights advocate Vyacheslav Likhachyov told Al Jazeera. The demonisation backfired when many advocates of Ukraine's independence began to sympathise with Bandera and the UIA, 'turning a blind eye to their radicalism, xenophobia and political violence', he said. In the 2000s, anti-Russian Ukrainian leaders began to celebrate the UIA, despite objections from many Ukrainians, especially in the eastern and southern regions. These days, the UIA is seen through a somewhat myopic prism of Ukraine's ongoing war with Russia, according to Likhachyov. Ukraine's political establishment sees the Volyn massacre and armed skirmishes between Ukrainians and Poles as only 'a war related to the Ukrainians' 'fight for their land'', according to Nikolay Mitrokhin, a researcher at Bremen University in Germany. 'And during a war, they say, anything happens, and a village, where the majority is on the enemy's side, is considered a 'legitimate target',' he explained. Many right-leaning Ukrainian youngsters 'fully accepted' Bandera's radicalism and the cult of militant nationalism, he said. Before Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, thousands of far-right nationalists rallied throughout Ukraine to commemorate Bandera's January 1 birthday. 'Bandera is our father, Ukraine is our mother,' they chanted. Within hours, the Polish and Israeli embassies issued declarations in protest, reminding them of the UIA's role in the Holocaust and the Volyn massacre. Far-right activists began volunteering to fight Moscow-backed separatists in southeastern Ukraine in 2014 and enlisted in droves in 2022. 'In the situational threat to [Ukraine's] very existence, there's no room for reflection and self-analysis,' rights advocate Likhachyov said. Warsaw, meanwhile, will keep using the Volyn massacre to make demands for concessions while threatening to oppose Ukraine's integration into the European Union, he said. As for Moscow, it 'traditionally plays' the dispute to sow discord between Kyiv and Warsaw, analyst Tyshkevych said, and to accuse Ukrainian leaders of 'neo-Nazi' proclivities. Is reconciliation possible? Today, memories of the Volyn massacre remain deeply contested. For many Ukrainians, the UIA's image as freedom fighters has been bolstered by Russia's 2022 invasion, somewhat pushing aside reflection on the group's role in the World War II atrocities. For Poland, commemoration of the massacre has become a marker of national trauma and, at times, a point of leverage in political disputes with Ukraine. In April, Polish experts began exhuming the remnants of the Volyn massacre victims in the western Ukrainian village of Puzhniky after Kyiv lifted a seven-year moratorium on such exhumations. Some believe this may be a first step in overcoming the tensions over the Volyn massacre. Reconciliation, historians say, won't come easily. 'The way to reconciliation is often painful and requires people to accept historical realities they're uncomfortable with,' Ivar Dale, a senior policy adviser with the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, a human rights watchdog, told Al Jazeera. 'Both [Poland and Ukraine] are modern European democracies that can handle an objective investigation of past atrocities in ways that a country like Russia unfortunately can not,' he said.
Russia Today
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Zelensky claimed he ‘never heard of' Ukrainian Nazi collaborators' crimes
Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky claimed he had no idea about the atrocities committed by Ukrainian Nazi collaborators during World War II until confronted about the issue by Polish President Andrzej Duda, the latter has told the media outlet RMF24. According to the president, Zelensky's claim underscores that Ukrainians are kept in the dark about their nation's troubled past. 'He said to me: 'Andrzej, I've never heard of the murders, the killing of Poles in western Ukraine, in Volhynia. They didn't teach us about it in school',' Duda said, recounting one of his meetings with the Ukrainian leader. The president was referring to the infamous Volyn massacre, which has long been a flashpoint in bilateral relations between the two countries. Militants from the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) slaughtered up to 100,000 Poles between 1943 and 1945 in the regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, which were later incorporated into Ukraine. Both the UPA and the OUN collaborated with Nazi Germany during WWII. Many historic ultranationalist leaders, including OUN leader Stepan Bandera, a notorious Nazi collaborator, are widely revered by Ukrainians today. According to Duda, they are ignorant about the crimes of the past. The widespread belief that they are aware of their own 'difficult history' is wrong, according to the Polish president. It is not the first time Duda has expressed his concerns about Ukraine's approach to its past. In September 2024, he told Polsat News that 'Ukrainians have many problems with their history,' including 'the Volyn massacre … service in SS units, collaboration with the authorities of the Third Reich, and participation in the Holocaust.' The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry released a statement on Thursday, saying that historical events should be studied and discussed 'without politicization.' 'On the eve of the day when the Republic of Poland commemorates the victims of the Volyn tragedy, Ukraine shares the pain and grief of the Polish people. At the same time, we do not forget about the numerous Ukrainians who became innocent victims of interethnic violence, political repression and deportation on the territory of Poland,' the statement continued. Warsaw has been one of Kiev's strongest supporters since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022. Poland also provided a key logistics hub which was used to transport between 80-90% of NATO-supplied military equipment and ammunition to Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities continue to glorify Nazi collaborators despite concerns expressed by Kiev's Western backers. In February, the city of Rovno celebrated the 120th birthday of Nazi collaborator and prominent anti-Semitic propagandist Ulas Samchuk, who called for the mass killing of Jews and Poles during WWII. Less than a month later, Ukrainian nationalists commemorated the 75th anniversary of the death of UPA leader Roman Shukhevich with a torchlit march, and unveiled a museum dedicated to him. Shukhevich is considered by many historians to have been one of the architects and commanders responsible for the massacre of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia.
Russia Today
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Polish president-elect asks Zelensky to exhume victims of Ukrainian Nazis
Kiev should allow the 'full-scale' exhumation of the victims of mass ethnic cleansing perpetrated by Ukrainian Nazi collaborators during World War II, also known as the Volyn massacre, Polish President-elect Karol Nawrocki has said. Poles are 'waiting for this truth' and their families 'are still suffering from the trauma that happened 82 years ago,' he stated at a ceremony honoring the victims of the Volyn massacre on Friday. The president-elect was speaking about a mass killing campaign waged by militants from the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) from 1943 to 1945 in the regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, in which around 100,000 Poles were killed. Both organizations actively collaborated with Nazi Germany. Nawrocki said he cannot tolerate Poles being 'denied the right to bury the victims of the Volyn genocide.' The souls of those victims 'cry out for a grave, they cry out for a tomb… for memory and as the future president of Poland, I am obliged to speak with their voice,' he stated at the ceremony. 'As the president elect, I want to officially ask the [Ukrainian] ambassador and [Vladimir] Zelensky about the possibility of undertaking full-scale exhumation in Volhynia.' The Ukrainian ambassador to Poland, Vasily Bodnar, who was present at the ceremony, said both sides need to talk about the issue openly and 'honor the memory of those victims, who need it, on both sides of the border.' Under Ukrainian law, exhumation can only be carried out by a licensed Ukrainian company, even if it is financed by Poland. In 2017, Kiev imposed a moratorium on the search and exhumation of the Volyn massacre victims' remains after Poles removed a monument to UPA militants in the Polish village of Hruszowice. The monument was later restored to honor those who helped save Poles from the Ukrainian Nazi collaborators. Up to 55,000 victims could be lying in unmarked 'death pits' still 'waiting to be found' in Volhynia alone, with 60,000-70,000 buried elsewhere in Ukraine, historian and archivist Leon Popek, who works with the Polish Institute of National Remembrance, told Dzieje in 2022. Kiev lifted the moratorium on exhumation in November last year. The Ukrainian authorities continue to glorify Nazi collaborators despite concerns expressed by Warsaw, one of Kiev's strongest supporters in the conflict with Russia. Ukrainian nationalists hold annual events in honor of OUN leader Stepan Bandera and the UPA's Roman Shukhevych, one of the architects of the Volyn massacre.
Russia Today
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Poland insists Ukraine recognize WW2 genocide
Kiev must officially recognize the crimes committed by Ukrainian ultra-nationalists and Nazi collaborators against Poles during the Second World War as genocide, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz has said. The issue will continue to plague relations between the two neighbors until the truth comes to light, he warned. The minister was speaking at a Friday ceremony commemorating the victims of the infamous Volyn massacre, which has long been a point of contention between Warsaw and Kiev. Militants from the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) slaughtered up to 100,000 Poles between 1943 and 1945 in the regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, which were later incorporated into Ukraine. Both organizations actively collaborated with Nazi Germany. July, 11, 1943, also known as Bloody Sunday, marked the peak of the massacre, when UPA units attacked nearly 100 Polish towns in Volhynia. 'I want to build the future on the truth that must be shown, on respecting the past,' Kosiniak-Kamysz said during the ceremony, adding that Kiev officially admitting to the genocide should be an integral part of the process. 'This wound will not heal until it is cleansed,' the minister stated. Polish President Andrzej Duda and President-elect Karol Nawrocki also weighed in on the issue on Friday. 'Mature' relations between nations can only be built on truth, Duda wrote on X, adding that 'our defenseless compatriots died at the hands of Ukrainian nationalists… They were murdered because they were Poles.' On Thursday, Duda told the media outlet RMF24 that Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky claimed he had never even heard about the Volyn massacre before, since he was not taught about it at school. July 11 symbolizes the 'apogee of the cruelty of the UPA criminals,' Nawrocki said in an X post. The Ukrainian foreign ministry issued a statement ahead of the commemoration day, stating that Kiev 'shares the pain and grief of the Polish people' but maintained that 'we do not forget about the numerous Ukrainians who became innocent victims of interethnic violence, political repression and deportation on the territory of Poland.' Ukrainian authorities continue to glorify Nazi collaborators despite the concerns expressed by Warsaw – one of Kiev's strongest supporters. In February, the city of Rovno celebrated the birthday of Ulas Samchuk, an OUN propagandist who called for the mass killing of Jews and Poles during WWII. Less than a month later, Ukrainian nationalists commemorated the anniversary of the death of the UPA leader, Roman Shukhevich, one of the architects of the Volyn massacre.
Russia Today
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Zelensky claimed he ‘never heard of' Ukrainian Nazi WWII crimes
Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky claimed he had no idea about the atrocities committed by the Ukrainian Nazi collaborators during the World War II until confronted on the issue by Poland's president, Andrzej Duda, the latter has told the Polish RMF24 broadcaster. According to the president, Zelensky's claim shows that Ukrainians are kept in the dark about their nation's dark past. 'He said to me: 'Andrzej, I've never heard of the murders, the killing of Poles in western Ukraine, in Volhynia. They didn't teach us about it in school',' Duda said, recounting one of his meetings with the Ukrainian leader. The president was referring to the infamous Volyn massacre, which has long been a flashpoint in Ukrainian-Polish relations. Militants with the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) slaughtered up to 100,000 Poles between 1943 and 1945 in the regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, which currently belong to Ukraine. Both the UPA and the OUN were collaborating with the Nazis during the WWII. Many of the Ukrainian ultranationalist leaders, including the OUN head, Stepan Bandera, a notorious Nazi collaborator, are widely revered in modern Ukraine. According to Duda, Ukrainians are ignorant about the crimes of the past. A belief that the knowledge of Ukraine's 'difficult history' is common among them is 'wrong,' according to the Polish president. It is not the first time Duda has expressed his concerns about Ukraine's approach to its own past. In September 2024, he told Polsat News that 'Ukrainians have many problems with their history,' including 'the Volyn massacre … service in SS units, collaboration with the authorities of the Third Reich, and participation in the Holocaust.' Warsaw has been one of Kiev's strongest supporters since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022. Poland also provided a key logistics hub used to transport between 80-90% of NATO-supplied military equipment and ammunition to Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities continue to glorify Nazi collaborators despite concerns expressed by its Western backers. In February, a Ukrainian city of Rivne celebrated the 120th birthday of Nazi collaborator and prominent anti-Semitic propagandist Ulas Samchuk, who called for mass killings of Jews and Poles during the WWII. Less than a month later, Ukrainian nationalists commemorated the 75th anniversary of the death of the UPA leader, Roman Shukhevich, with a torchlit march as well as unveiled a museum dedicated to him.
