Ukrainian and Polish Presidents Commemorate WWII Massacre Victims

On Sunday, July 9, the Presidents of Ukraine and Poland held a ceremony to honor the victims of the massacre of Poles by Ukrainian nationalists during World War II. This massacre has been a source of tension between the two allied countries. Warsaw has been one of Kyiv's staunchest supporters since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. However, the shadow of the Volhynia massacre, in which historians say tens of thousands of Poles were killed, continues to weigh heavily on relations between the two countries. Polish historians state that approximately 12,000 Ukrainians were also killed in retaliatory operations by Poland afterward. According to Reuters, television footage showed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda at a ceremony to remember the victims in a church in Lutsk, western Ukraine. The presidential offices of both countries tweeted their respect for the victims of Volhynia, stating that Ukraine and Poland remain united. The Polish parliament has declared that the killings carried out by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army between 1943 and 1945, led by Ukrainian nationalist Stepan Bandera, constitute genocide. Ukraine has rejected this claim and often refers to these events as part of the conflict between Poland and Ukraine that has affected both countries. This massacre caused an unusual public rift between Poland and Ukraine earlier this year after a Polish Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that Zelensky should apologize and seek forgiveness for it. However, the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament stated in May that Kyiv understands Poland's pain and made these remarks to ease tensions between the two countries. Wagner mercenaries in Belarus; Poland deployed mechanized brigades to the east. Five killed in Russian missile attack on Ukraine; two days of public mourning in Lviv.