Cooperation with Warsaw on the exhumations of victims killed in a WWII massacre remains a priority for Kyiv, the Ukrainian ambassador to Poland has said, amid efforts to turn a new page on a dark chapter of history.
“Both Ukraine and Poland need to say ‘sorry’ to each other if we want to build a shared future,” said Vasyl Bodnar, who has been serving as Kyiv’s envoy to Warsaw since October.
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He added: “We must remember that the goal is not only to uncover facts and honor the victims but also to achieve reconciliation.”
The Volhynia massacre, a series of killings by Ukrainian nationalists between 1943 and 1945 in what is now western Ukraine, resulted in the deaths of an estimated 100,000 Polish men, women and children.
The issue of exhumations has often threatened to derail ties between Kyiv and Warsaw, a staunch backer of Ukraine in its war against Russia.
While Poland views the massacre as genocide, opinions in Ukraine remain divided, with some describing it as part of a “symmetrical” armed conflict.
Some historians estimate that in retaliatory killings following the massacre, thousands of Ukrainians died at the hands of Poles.
Warsaw has long campaigned for its investigators to receive full access in Ukraine to exhume victims.
Tensions escalated in 2017 when Kyiv banned exhumations led by Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance (IPN)—a state body tasked with documenting crimes against the Polish people—after a monument to the nationalist Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) was dismantled in Poland.
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‘Strong emotions’
In an interview with Polish state news agency PAP on Friday, Bodnar said: “We understand how important the issue of Volhynia is for Poland and the strong emotions it evokes.
“We want exhumation and search efforts to be conducted openly and with respect for the victims’ families. Cooperation in this matter is our priority.”
He added that cooperation between Kyiv and Warsaw on the issue has intensified in recent months, citing a November joint statement by Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha, which announced the lifting of Kyiv’s exhumation ban.
Following discussions between the two foreign ministers, a working group meeting was held in Lviv, followed by talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in December in the same Ukrainian city.
“Before President Zelenskyy’s visit to Poland [in mid-January], the first permit for exhumation work was issued. We are now preparing to begin fieldwork as soon as weather conditions allow,” Bodnar said.
‘More political than historical’
The ambassador acknowledged there were difficulties in Kyiv and Warsaw cooperating, which he said stemmed from historical tensions and attempts to politicize the issue of the killings.
He added: “The topic of the Volhynia massacre has unfortunately become more political than historical, complicating open and constructive discussions.”
However, he said that plans for another working group meeting in the coming days are underway, adding: “We are working on streamlining procedures, analyzing existing agreements, and introducing changes to avoid unnecessary administrative barriers.”
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