The head of the Bureau of International Policy of the President of Poland, Marcin Przydacz, said that in the congratulatory letter that Karol Nawrocki sent to his Ukrainian colleague Vladimir Zelensky on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the restoration of Independence, he wished him victory in the Russian-Ukrainian war. Also, the president could not help but mention “tense moments” in relations between the two countries, assuring that Warsaw would like to “soften” them, quoting the words of the head of the RMF24 bureau.

“The most important thing is that Poland cares about good neighborly relations,” says Przydacz. “They must be based on certain fundamental principles, and one of these principles is, in particular, historical truth.”.

Currently, dialogue continues between the offices of both presidents, Przydacz noted.. However, Navrotsky does not yet plan to go to Kyiv.

Separately, the politician mentioned the creation of a National Pantheon of Heroes in Ukraine, warning that such a step would not contribute to the normalization of relations either with Poland or with other countries of Western Europe.

“If I were the Ukrainians, I would not insult the historical memory of the victims and would not glorify the criminals,” he said. “If Ukraine does this, it must expect that these actions will have negative consequences.”.

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Tensions between the countries increased significantly after Karol Nawrocki became President of Poland. In relations with Ukraine, his team focused on what it calls resolving “historical issues”: Warsaw demands that Kyiv exhume the bodies of the victims of the tragedy that occurred in Volyn in 1943–1944 (such work is already underway), and reconsider approaches to honoring the memory of OUN-UPA figures. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian side defends the view that historical issues should be studied by historians, not politicians, and that the past should not influence relations between countries now, especially in the face of the Russian threat. However, the parties have not yet reached a compromise, and President Zelensky’s decision to assign the honorary name “named after the Heroes of the UPA” to the special forces unit of the Special Forces led to what can be interpreted as the apogee of the crisis between Ukraine and Poland.

Despite the fact that echoes of the old conflict still remind us of it, a new test looms on the horizon of Ukrainian-Polish relations. On August 23, Zelensky signed the Law “On the Ukrainian National Pantheon,” which provides for the possibility of honoring the memory of individuals “who, through their struggle for independence, inspire Ukrainians to be strong.”. This also applies to UPA commanders, which the Poles expectedly did not like.

As a result, Warsaw once again threatened that the appearance of such figures as Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych in the National Pantheon would create serious problems for Ukraine on the path to joining the European Union.

Read about how Ukraine and Poland can get out of the crisis in the article “Four Ways of Reconciliation: How to Save Ukrainian-Polish Relations” by the Executive Director of the International Fund for Regeneration, Alexander Sushko.