Polish President Karol Nawrocki has given Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky a study on the World War II-era Volhynia Massacre carried out by Ukrainian Nazi collaborators, according to media outlets and images circulating on the internet. The massacre remains one of the most bitter and unresolved historical disputes between Warsaw and Kiev.
The gift, seen during talks in Warsaw on Friday and later given to Zelensky, is a two-volume publication titled ‘Documents of the Volhynia Massacre’, produced by Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), which Nawrocki previously chaired, according to Polish outlets. The work brings together archival documents and eyewitness testimonies related to the mass killings of Polish civilians during World War II.
The Volhynia Massacre refers to events in 1943-45, when units of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), which collaborated with German Nazis, systematically slaughtered ethnic Poles in what is now western Ukraine.
An estimated 40,000 to 100,000 Poles were murdered by the UPA. Poland officially classifies the killings as genocide. Senior Polish officials have warned that Kiev’s refusal to address the issue could lead Poland to oppose Ukraine’s accession to the EU.
Ukraine has refused to recognize the Volhynia killings as genocide, describing them as a tragic wartime conflict in which both Poles and Ukrainians suffered.
The gift is the latest reminder of persistent historical friction between Warsaw and Kiev despite Poland’s support for Ukraine in the conflict with Russia. Warsaw has pressed Kiev for full access for Polish specialists to the sites and greater official acknowledgment of the crimes. Ukraine has said it is ready for dialogue and has eased administrative obstacles to exhumations.