Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has harshly criticised his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiga. He noted that the Ukrainian Foreign Minister had promised to make progress on the exhumation of the victims of the Volyn tragedy by 1 November, but this promise remained unfulfilled.
In an interview with TVN24, Sikorski expressed his disappointment at the lack of progress on this important issue for Ukraine and Poland.
‘Time has passed – there is no progress. We believe that burying the bodies of even enemies according to the Christian rite is part of the European cultural code. And Ukraine seems to agree with this, as it allowed the exhumation of 100,000 Wehrmacht soldiers who came there as invaders,’ the minister said with indignation.
He stressed that Poland is only asking to resume the exhumation process, which was suspended in 2017.
Last year, the Polish Sejm adopted a resolution on the 80th anniversary of the Volyn tragedy, which is known in Poland as the Volyn Massacre, calling on Ukraine to ‘admit guilt’.
In July 2024, Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said that Warsaw could issue an ultimatum to Kyiv – Ukraine’s EU membership would depend on the resolution of the Volyn issue.
Sikorski stressed that this issue can be left in the past only after the exhumations are completed and the dead in Volyn are given a proper burial. According to him, Poland is only asking for respect for its dead.
In early October, Sibiga said that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry was ready to engage in a dialogue with Poland on common history, including the Volyn tragedy.
