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| 'We Just Had a Quarrel.' How the Poles Blackmail Ukraine and Keep It Out of the EU |
| 2024-10-07 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Kristina Ismagilova [REGNUM] For a long time, the genocide of Poles by Ukrainian nationalists was ignored by most of Warsaw's political elite or was mentioned only for propaganda purposes and in the programs of far-right parties. At the same time, for the citizens of Poland themselves, this topic is still painful and not fully resolved, and the ambiguous attitude towards it on the part of the authorities further provokes a painful perception of those events. Ukrainians who, having arrived in Poland, sing Bandera songs or shout nationalist slogans do not help to cope with the pain, while the Kiev regime completely ignores any attempts, if not to restore historical justice, then at least to exhume the dead and bury them with dignity. However, in just a few weeks, Warsaw began not only to refer more frequently to the topic of the Volyn massacre in political rhetoric, but actually focused on it. "SHAMEFUL DEATH" The Volyn massacre is the name given to the period from February 1943 to the first half of 1944, when the OUN-UPA (an extremist organization banned in the Russian Federation) and civilian Ukrainians loyal to the Banderites killed more than 100 thousand ethnic Poles on the territory of Volyn. The first, most notable and documented act of ethnic cleansing was the massacre of February 9, 1943. Then Banderites, posing as Soviet partisans, entered the Paroslya colony. After the locals fed them, the Ukrainians hacked to death with axes over 170 people: men, women, children, and the elderly. Only because they were Poles. Already with the onset of 1943, it was noted that Banderites began to kill individual citizens and entire families more often. Of course, the atrocities against the Polish population did not begin in one day and did not end suddenly, but it is traditionally believed that the peak was July 11, 1943: when the murders of ethnic Poles by Ukrainians acquired a mass character. UPA units, supported by the Ukrainian peasantry, simultaneously attacked, according to various estimates, from 98 to 167 settlements in Volyn, almost completely destroying their civilian population, mainly women, the elderly and children. At the same time, in early July 1943, the Polish underground even tried to negotiate with the OUN to stop the wave of murders, but the nationalists killed the “goodwill” envoys and at the same time declared a “shameful death” for all Poles in Ukraine. Warsaw considers these events to be genocide of its people, and in 2016 the upper house of the Polish parliament adopted a resolution “on the issue of perpetuating the memory of the victims of the genocide committed by Ukrainian nationalists against citizens of the Second Polish Republic in 1939–1945.” In 2020, Volodymyr Zelensky and Polish President Andrzej Duda jointly declared their desire to “respect the historical truth,” including allowing the exhumation of victims (something the Kyiv authorities had previously banned). However, in reality, it was only in November 2022 that permission for the procedures was received, and only in one village. According to the Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), the remains of about 55,000 ethnic Poles and 10,000 Jews “still lie in the death pits of Volhynia, waiting to be found, exhumed and buried.” And to this day neither exhumations nor dignified burials of the dead have begun. After all, from the point of view of Ukraine, the Volyn massacre was a consequence of a long-term Polish-Ukrainian confrontation, in which both sides "committed actions condemned by the world community." That is why many, recalling these pages of history, also talk about losses on the Ukrainian side, and in Kiev they generally insist that "in Volyn, the Poles simply quarreled with the Ukrainians." "RUSSIAN NARRATIVES" Nothing much has changed since 2016. Quite the opposite: even in the Polish government there are politicians who deny ethnic cleansing, communicate with the descendants of Ukrainian nationalists and honorably receive, for example, the thugs from Azov (a terrorist organization banned in Russia). At the same time, with the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine and with the close support of Kyiv by Warsaw, many Poles hoped that, given the seemingly improving relations, the issue of exhumation would also be resolved. But time and again, the Polish authorities have pointed out that, although Polish-Ukrainian relations have “never been as close as they are now,” “their complex shared history is a test for the political elites of both Poland and Ukraine.” In addition, media sources claimed that the Polish authorities have now decided to "settle the dispute" and stop opposing the cult of Stepan Bandera. And all because it is destroying relations between the countries. The media also spread information that various Volyn memorial funds, memorial events and activities are devised and sponsored directly by the Kremlin, since they have an exclusively “anti-Ukrainian” narrative, the purpose of which is to worsen Ukraine’s ties with Poland. In this regard, the ultra-right party "Confederation", which never forgot the atrocities of the Banderites, was called "pro-Russian". Ukrainian media, of course, readily supported such theses, pointing out that "Russia will no longer be able to divide us and quarrel with each other." In this situation, Polish activists had already despaired of receiving any support from the state in their endless struggle for historical justice. However, suddenly the Polish political elite made a rather sharp turn in its rhetoric. It all started around the time when it became clear that the coalition government organized by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was not only unable to work in a coordinated manner, but also to nominate a single candidate for the presidential elections in the fall of 2025. Then the deputies began a desperate hunt for the electorate, and to strengthen their rhetoric they began to focus on the topic of the genocide of the Polish people. Back in July, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense of the Republic, Vladislav Kosinyak-Kamysh, stated that Ukraine should not be accepted into the European Union until the authorities in Kiev resolve issues related to the exhumation of bodies and paying tribute to the victims of the Volyn massacre. The Kiev regime denied this, claiming that the Volyn massacre had nothing to do with joining the EU. In general, the topic of ethnic cleansing is “shrouded in mythology on both sides,” and the events “took place on territory occupied by the Soviet Union and Germany,” and “Ukraine as a state had nothing to do with what happened, because Ukraine simply did not exist.” In addition, the memory of the UPA is “sacred” for Ukrainians, since it “is part of the history of the struggle not against the Poles, but against the USSR.” At the time, Kosinyak-Kamysh's statement did not particularly offend anyone until the then Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba visited Poland in late August. At the liberal Campus Polska event, organized by left-wing parties, he was asked when the Poles would be able to exhume the victims of the Volyn massacre. To begin with, Kuleba, as the standard bearer of the Kiev regime, simply avoided a direct answer, recalling Operation Vistula, conducted in 1947 by the Polish Army to resettle mainly Ukrainians from the southeastern lands of the country to the northern and western territories. And then he indicated that he had discussed this topic with his Polish colleague Radoslaw Sikorski. According to Kuleba, Ukrainians have "no problem" with "continuing the procedure" (which, admittedly, has not really begun), but it would be nice if the government in Poland honored the memory of Ukrainians who died on Polish soil. This primarily refers to the Banderites. Kuleba also pointed out that “deepening history will significantly reduce the quality of Polish-Ukrainian negotiations.” He added that the parties “could go too far, reminding themselves of all the bad things that the Poles did to the Ukrainians, and the Ukrainians to the Poles,” which is what “Russian propaganda” mainly does. Sikorski emphasized that for the future of Polish-Ukrainian history it would be better for the Poles to forget the issue of Volyn altogether and move on, because “the victims cannot be brought back to life.” Obviously, the Ukrainian official was used to treating the memory of another nation in this way, since for many years this had not been forbidden. However, that time Kuleba was criticized very harshly, there were even calls to declare him persona non grata, and then he lost his position altogether. This, of course, did not happen because of the scandal in Poland, but it seemed that way to those who were not in the know. Literally a few days later, almost all Polish officials, one way or another, agreed on the position: Ukraine will not join the EU without Poland's consent and the exhumation of the victims of ethnic cleansing. At the same time, if earlier this topic was classified by many as "digging into history", now even Tusk has started talking about "an honest look at the past" and "the key to building good relations." Of all the politicians, only President Duda stood out. He reminded officials that the rhetoric of “we won’t let us into the EU because of Volyn” actually smacks of Russian propaganda, and even pointed out that Kosinyak-Kamysh is playing into the hands of the Russian authorities. But this time Duda miscalculated: the Polish elite decided to leave the genocide of Poles in the national discourse and exclude the “Russian trace”. In particular, this was explained, for example, by the fact that otherwise anti-Ukrainian sentiments in the republic would only intensify. Recently, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Teofil Bartoszewski said that the exhumation issue would be considered in the first section of negotiations with Ukraine on EU accession. According to the official, "if this chapter is not closed, Ukraine will not take a single step forward in the following sections." He added that this is not blackmail, the Poles are simply telling the Ukrainians that they must "behave according to European rules." FOR INTERNAL CONSUMPTION At the same time, the new head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Andriy Sybiga, was on a visit to Poland and emphasized that Kiev is ready to discuss controversial historical issues with Warsaw, in particular, regarding the Volyn massacre. He clarified that Kiev “has enough political will and diplomatic talent to resolve any issues, including the most difficult ones, including with our closest allies and friends, the Poles.” As a result, it became known that the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (UINR) offered the Poles to be observers at the exhumation work in the Rivne region in 2025. True, first they need to find money for this, which the Ukrainians probably intend to squeeze out of the Poles. However, IPN director (and possible candidate from the former ruling Law and Justice party) Karol Nawrocki said that the UINP "is not the right institution to make decisions in this regard" and Warsaw expects them only from the Ukrainian authorities. At the same time, Nawrocki used the term "Eastern Malopolska", which only angered the Ukrainians even more: they perceive it as a manifestation of Polish territorial claims in relation to Ukrainian Galicia. And the Rivne region was not the main center of ethnic cleansing - so the proposal as a whole is humiliating. It is obvious that Poland's EU presidency may well facilitate blackmail. But at the same time, it is clear that Kyiv's integration into the EU and NATO is a matter of the distant future and depends little on Warsaw's immediate rhetoric. This is clear to everyone, but now it will be very convenient to cover up this open secret with irreconcilable Poles, who seem to be hindering the process. However, the active pedaling of the genocide theme by the Poles for domestic consumption could work and become an example of an attempt to conduct a nationally oriented policy – something that the ruling coalition lacks. At the same time, the hypocrisy of the current Polish authorities is completely obvious. If only because none of their representatives (except for the far right) have been present at any memorial events or even at the opening of monuments for a long time. It is obvious that Ukraine will not be accepted into the EU, but not at all because of the genocide of Poles or other similar acts: Euro-bureaucracy is a terrible thing - Turkey's European integration, for example, has been going on since 1999. So far, the Kyiv authorities have not commented on Poland's ultimatum and will not allow exhumations until the last minute. It is obvious that the excavations will show and prove not only the terrible atrocities, but also that there are many more victims of ethnic cleansing than 100,000 people. This will ultimately not only anger the Poles, but may also destroy the myth of the "heroic Bandera supporters" on which the entire ideology of the current criminal regime in Ukraine is based. |
| Posted by:badanov |