Ukraine Reaffirms Support for Joint Historical Dialogue as Ambassador Honors Volyn Victims in Warsaw

Ukraine’s Ambassador to Poland, Vasyl Bodnar, laid a wreath at the Volyn Memorial in Warsaw on July 11, reaffirming Kyiv’s support for historical dialogue, exhumation efforts, and joint remembrance of victims of the Volyn tragedy.

The ceremony took place on Poland’s National Day of Remembrance for Victims of the Volyn Massacre, as Ukraine and Poland continue joint efforts to search for, exhume, and rebury victims of the wartime killings.

Ukraine’s Ambassador to Poland, Vasyl Bodnar, participated in a commemorative ceremony at Warsaw’s Volyn Square on behalf of Ukraine, where he placed a wreath at the memorial dedicated to the victims of the Volyn tragedy.

“For us today it is important and our duty not only to honor this memory, to remember history, but also to work so that the future is free of problems, so that the future is shared, in our common European home,” Bodnar said during the ceremony.

The ambassador also stressed that honoring every victim remains a shared responsibility for both countries.

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“Ukraine stands for establishing the full historical truth, continuing search and exhumation work, and professional dialogue between historians. Ukraine and Poland have a difficult history, but they also have a common future. That is why we must honor the memory of the victims together, find the truth, and build relations based on respect and trust,” he said.

The commemorative event comes as Ukraine and Poland continue implementing agreements reached through their bilateral working group on historical memory.

According to the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, a new phase of joint Ukrainian-Polish exhumation work is scheduled to begin on July 13 and continue through August 7 in the former villages of Ostrovky and Volya Ostrovetska in Ukraine’s Volyn region.

Ukrainian archaeologists and specialists will work alongside researchers from Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance to recover and rebury the remains of civilians killed in August 1943.

The commemorations come amid repeated warnings from Ukrainian officials that Russia is attempting to exploit historical disputes between Ukraine and Poland. Earlier this month, Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation said Moscow was preparing an information campaign centered on the Volyn tragedy to inflame tensions between the two countries and undermine their strategic partnership.

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