**Poland’s President-Elect Urges Zelensky to Allow Full Exhumations in Volyn**
On July 11, Polish President-elect Karol Nawrocki called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to allow full-scale exhumations of Polish victims of the Volyn massacres. This comes as the long-stalled process had already resumed in April.
**A Dark Chapter in History**
The Volyn (Volhynian) massacres took place in 1943-1944, during World War II, in what is now western Ukraine. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) members killed tens of thousands of Poles, while thousands of Ukrainians were killed in retaliation.
**Nawrocki’s Plea**
Speaking at a ceremony in the eastern Polish city of Chelm marking the 82nd anniversary of the massacres, Nawrocki said that the victims “do not cry out for revenge, but for a cross, a grave, and memory.” He urged Ukraine to authorize further work across multiple sites. “Poles are waiting for this truth,” he added.
**A Restart in Exhumations**
The restart of exhumations at the destroyed village of Puzhnyky in April marked the first such effort since 2017. This was followed by additional exhumations announced in June, to be conducted in Zboiska and the nearby district of Pid Holoskom in Lviv Oblast.
**A Moral Obligation**
Nawrocki emphasized his moral obligation to speak for the victims, citing his background as a historian. He has long argued that Ukraine should not be allowed into the EU before the Volyn issue is resolved.
**Ukrainian Ambassador’s Response**
Ukrainian Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Bodnar reportedly voiced support for further dialogue and acknowledged the importance of honoring victims on both sides of the historical divide. “We need to talk about this history openly,” he said.
**A National Day of Remembrance**
Current Polish President Andrzej Duda recently signed legislation establishing July 11 as the National Day of Remembrance for Polish victims of the Volyn massacres. The law declares that the “atrocities committed between 1939 and 1946” must remain in Poland’s national memory.
**Estimates of Casualties**
Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance estimates that some 100,000 Poles were killed in the Volyn region. Ukrainian historians argue that thousands of Ukrainians were also killed in retaliatory actions, and insist that the conflict be viewed as mutual ethnic violence rather than genocide.
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