Polish-Ukrainian Relations: A September 2024 Update
Polish-Ukrainian relations were cemented after 2022 when Warsaw supported Ukraine unprecedentedly. However, although the honeymoon period has ended and bilateral relations have encountered a bumpy road, Poland does not intend to stop helping Ukraine.
“Volhynia” (Wołyń) is a name that says little or even nothing to most people in the world, including in the West. However, for many Poles, it is an extremely important and painful issue, while for Ukrainians, it is a source of shame. Volhynia also serves as a clear illustration of how history – even as distant as World War II – can impact contemporary international relations and relations between countries.
Before World War II, Volhynia belonged to Poland. These lands were inhabited by Ukrainians, Poles, and Jews. In July 1943, members of the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army) carried out a coordinated attack on Polish civilians. In a short period, approximately 100,000 people, including many children, were massacred.
Neighbors killed their neighbors, looting their property and burning homes. In this planned genocide, the Ukrainian population was exceptionally brutal. Poles were burned alive, thrown into wells, hacked with axes, and killed with pitchforks. The victims, including children, were tortured.
The UPA bands were crushed only after World War II (in the years 1947-1950) as part of Operation “Vistula” (Wisła). During this time, there were mass relocations of people from southeastern Poland to western Poland, often to ex-German houses (previously, there had been relocations of the Ukrainian population to the USSR). The operation led to the actual destruction of the UPA and prevented the start of guerilla warfare against Poland.
Poles resent Ukraine not only because they have never apologized for these crimes against civilians, but also because they often recognize the perpetrators – including Stepan Bandera and the UPA – as national heroes.
A major point of contention, which diminishes Polish sympathy towards Ukraine, is the fact that Kyiv refuses to grant permission for the exhumation of thousands of murdered civilians. They have never been properly buried. Many Poles believe that Ukrainians are aware that exhumations would reveal the extent of their barbarity towards civilians.
A few days ago, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who was in Poland, added fuel to the fire. When asked when Ukraine would grant permission for the exhumations, he responded that Poles were responsible for the forced resettlement of Ukrainians after World War II. According to him, Ukrainians “were expelled from Ukrainian territories,” even though these were Polish lands.
“With a Ukrainian foreign minister like this, the Russians don’t need to hire trolls to spoil Polish-Ukrainian relations,” said Professor Przemysław Żurawski vel Grajewski, former security and foreign policy advisor to the previous government (which clearly pursued a pro-Ukrainian policy and lobbied internationally for as much humanitarian, political, and military aid for Ukraine as possible). “The use of the term ‘Ukrainian territories’ in reference to parts of Polish territory is obviously bound to cause outrage in Poland, and as foreign minister, Kuleba had a duty to know this.”
After Minister Kuleba’s remarks, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a clarification (explaining that they were referring to areas predominantly inhabited by Ukrainians), but the bad taste remained.
This is not the first time Ukraine has provoked Poland, a country that has openly supported Kyiv with military aid since the beginning of Russia’s aggression. For example, in September 2023, during the general debate of the UN General Assembly, Volodymyr Zelensky accused Poland of acting in Russia’s favor during the grain dispute.
Zelensky’s recent statement, in which he suggested that he might not answer a call from President Andrzej Duda, who was considering the scenario of a sudden Russian military withdrawal from Ukraine, was also seen as tactless and disrespectful. At the same time, Zelensky soon expressed not so much a request as an expectation that Poland would hand over all its remaining MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine for free.
The Ukrainian stance is being received negatively in Poland across nearly all political circles. Even moderate groups seem to be losing patience with Ukraine. For instance, Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that “Ukraine will have to, one way or another, meet Polish expectations,” adding that exhumations, truth, and an honest assessment of what happened during and immediately after World War II are necessary to establish good Polish-Ukrainian relations.
According to data recently provided by Polish President Andrzej Duda, since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine, Poland has delivered nearly 400 tanks to the Ukrainians (including T-72s, PT-91s, and LEOPARD 2s), 300-400 BMP-1 armored infantry fighting vehicles, not to mention dozens of KTO ROSOMAL wheeled armored vehicles, 2S1 GVOZDIKA and KRAB self-propelled howitzers, UAVs, and almost all of its air defense systems (S-125 NEVA, S-200 VEGA, 9K33 OSA, S-60, ZU-23-2, ZSU-23-4MP), along with tons of personal gear, rifles, and ammunition.
The list also includes MiG-29 jets and Mi-24 helicopters. Importantly, this support was provided almost from the first day, when the fate of the war was hanging in the balance, and Ukraine’s equipment shortages were most severe.
Jarosław Wolski, a Polish defense expert, estimates that Poland has transferred about 40% of its ground forces equipment to Ukraine (causing shortages in Poland to this day, particularly in AIFVs). Additionally, Poland has taken in about a million Ukrainian refugees. The total aid from Poland, including for refugees, is estimated at around USD 26 billion (3.3% of GDP).
Provocative statements by Ukrainians – especially Kuleba’s words – are perceived in Poland as a disregard for their ally, stemming in part from the awareness that Poland has little left to offer. For instance, in late August 2024, Poland officially rejected the possibility of providing Ukraine with additional MiG-29 aircraft.
“We have given as much as we could, and I also expect the Ukrainian side to appreciate this,” said Minister of National Defense Kosiniak-Kamysz, who in another statement added, “Without commemorating the Polish victims in Volhynia, there is no question of Ukraine joining the European Union.”
Professor Żurawski vel Grajewski sadly notes that the Polish-Ukrainian relations built since 2022 and the plan to create a strong, pro-American Warsaw-Kyiv duo in Central Europe, as a counterbalance to Germany, is currently being ruined.
“This success, in terms of a mental breakthrough in relations between Poles and Ukrainians, has been completely destroyed by Zelensky’s team to the detriment of both Poland and Ukraine because we cannot manage separately, neither we nor they. Kuleba today deepened this destruction – to the detriment of Poland and Ukraine, and to the joy of the Russians and Germans”.
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