Polish PM pledges memorial to victims of WW2 'genocide by Ukrainian nationalists'

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on Saturday that Poland will build a national memorial to commemorate those who died in what he called a 'genocide committed by Ukrainian nationalists' during World War II. Tusk spoke on the anniversary of the Volyn massacre, which took place from 1943 to 1945 in what was then German-occupied Poland, now part of Ukraine. Warsaw claims that the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) killed approximately 100,000 ethnic Poles.

Tusk emphasized that truth is a duty to the victims and a way to overcome a painful past for a better future. 'Memory cannot be the servant of hatred. The answer to nationalism cannot be more nationalism,' he said, urging Ukraine to embrace this truth if it wants to eventually join the European Union.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki said he had to act but stressed the row would not affect Poland's support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia's full-scale invasion launched in 2022.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called Warsaw's move a 'strategic mistake'. Three former Ukrainian presidents returned their White Eagle awards to Poland in solidarity with Zelensky.

In a video address late Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that representatives of both countries participated in joint prayers to commemorate the Volyn victims. 'Ukraine is doing its part to honestly establish the facts about those killed in those years,' he said, adding that Russia remains a common and mortal threat to both nations' independence.