Zelenskyy visits Poland as sides reach deal on exhuming Polish victims of WWII-era massacres
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was visiting Poland on Wednesday after the two countries reached an agreement on a longstanding source of tensions between them: the exhumation of Polish victims of World War II-era massacres by Ukrainian nationalists.
The office of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said early Wednesday he would welcome Zelenskyy in the late morning, and that the two would hold a joint news conference shortly after noon local time. The visit comes just days after Tusk announced progress on the issue of the exhumations, an issue that has strained relations for years.
“Finally a breakthrough. There is a decision on the first exhumations of Polish victims of the UPA," Tusk wrote on the social platform X on Friday, referring to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. “I thank the ministers of culture of Poland and Ukraine for their good cooperation. We are waiting for further decisions.”.
A non-governmental group, the Freedom and Democracy Foundation, said Monday it will begin exhumation work on victims in Ukraine in April. Although Poland has been one of Ukraine's most stalwart supporters since Russia's full-scale invasion nearly three years ago, the issue of the Polish victims lying in mass graves in Ukrainian soil eight decades after they were killed has left a festering bitterness among many Poles.
It also has put pressure on Tusk, who is seeking to show progress on an issue of continued importance to many people in Poland. It is particularly important as his party's candidate in a presidential election in May is expected to face a strong challenge from a nationalist opposition candidate.
