Polish President: I will not blackmail Ukraine with the Volyn Tragedy

Polish President Andrzej Duda. Photo: Screenshot from Radio ZET video

Polish President Andrzej Duda stated that at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Warsaw could have pressured Ukraine by offering weapons only if Kyiv apologized for the Volyn tragedy. However, as Duda said in an interview with Radio Zet, he "does not operate in this manner."

"Of course, Ukraine could have been blackmailed at a time when it already had a Russian knife at its throat, but please look for another politician for that, as I do not work with such methods," Duda emphasized.

When asked why Ukraine is currently exhuming and burying Wehrmacht soldiers but has not done the same for the victims of the Volyn tragedy, he suggested that Ukraine and Germany are close allies and have always been so since World War II, partly because many Ukrainians, including those who fled the USSR, live in Germany.

In his view, during difficult times, Ukrainian authorities operate based on the calculation that it is better to ally with a strong partner, which Germany represents.

"We must also understand that the Volyn crime is a very uncomfortable topic for Ukrainians, whereas the issue of exhuming Wehrmacht soldiers is a neutral topic for Ukraine," Duda added.

Earlier, the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory announced that in 2025, search efforts for Volyn tragedy victims would be conducted in the Rivne region in response to appeals from Polish citizens.

As UOJ reported, the office of His Beatitude Metropolitan Sawa, Primate of the Polish Orthodox Church, announced that the Polish president would participate in celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the independence of the Polish Church.

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