Poland emphasizes the need to address historical issues for Ukraine's EU accession

Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz criticized Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba's suggestion to leave historical issues like the Volhynia massacre to historians, emphasizing that resolving these disputes is essential for Ukraine’s EU membership and improving Polish-Ukrainian relations. 

Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz delivers remarks during a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (not pictured), at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, DC, USA, 29 August 2024. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk recently presented the 2025 national budget, which includes record defense spending of 187 billion zlotys (

EPA/SHAWN THEW/PAP/EPA

Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and Prime Minister Donald Tusk both highlighted that Ukraine’s EU membership depends on properly addressing and commemorating the Polish victims of the Volhynia massacre and resolving historical disputes with Poland.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, speaking at the Campus Polska Przyszłości event in Olsztyn, suggested that historical issues like the Volhynia Massacre should be left to historians so that focus can shift to building a shared future.

However, in an interview with Marek Wałkuski from Polskie Radio, Kosiniak-Kamysz criticized Kuleba's remarks, arguing that the Volhynia issue cannot be overlooked.

Bez upamiętnienia polskich ofiar na Wołyniu nie ma mowy o wstąpieniu Ukrainy do Unii Europejskiej - powiedział Polskiemu Radiu @KosiniakKamysz. Wicepremier skrytykował @DmytroKuleba za apel by historię Wołynia pozostawić historykom i zająć się budowaniem przyszłości. @PR24_pl pic.twitter.com/nE9PARcMF9

— Marek Wałkuski (@Marekwalkuski) August 30, 2024

He stressed that honoring the victims appropriately is crucial for reconciliation, and that Ukraine's EU membership cannot proceed without resolving this difficult issue.

Kosiniak-Kamysz added that Poland has already done much to support Ukraine and, while it will continue to help, it cannot transfer additional MIG-29 fighters as they are needed to protect Polish airspace. He expects Ukraine to appreciate Poland's efforts.

PM Tusk comments on Kuleba's statement regarding Volhynia

Prime Minister Tusk also criticized Kuleba's remarks on the Volhynia issue during a press conference, underscoring that resolving historical disputes with Poland is essential for improving relations and achieving EU membership for Ukraine.

Tusk noted that while Ukraine cannot join the EU without Polish approval, addressing historical grievances is key to building strong bilateral relations.

What was the Volhynia Massacre?

The Volhynia Massacre, carried out by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) from 1943 to 1944, was a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing targeting the Polish population in the Volhynia region, now located in present-day western Ukraine but part of Poland before World War II.

This tragic event, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of Poles, remains a deeply contentious and painful chapter in Polish-Ukrainian history, with experts still debating whether it constituted an act of genocide.

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Source: IAR/PAP/X/PR24/RDC/KPRM

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