In the service of Russia: the new crisis between Ukraine and Poland

The discovery of six skeletons in a field in Ukraine has brought back to the center the dispute over the massacre of Poles in Volhynia by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). The conflict has led Poland to take steps against Zelensky and threatens relations between Warsaw and Kyiv, amid attempts at de-escalation from both sides.

The discovery of six skeletons in a field in Ukraine has brought back to the center of attention the historical dispute over the massacre of Poles in Volhynia. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, while Kyiv glorifies the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) as freedom fighters, in Poland they are remembered as those who massacred tens of thousands of Poles. At the center of the dispute is an ethnic cleansing campaign that took place in Volhynia between 1943 and 1945, during which groups linked to the UPA massacred about 90,000 Poles, after the murder of about one million Jews in the area. The conflict has led Poland to take steps against Zelensky, but despite this, Zelensky sent senior officials for talks in Warsaw and promised to allow further excavations, while Poland announced a new military aid package for Ukraine worth $50 million. Massacre survivor Zdzisław Żurowski, 91, said that Ukrainians hope time will pass and everyone will forget, but he cannot forget.