What Ukrainian TV didn’t show: Scandal over Poroshenko’s visit to Poland
Poland and Ukraine continue to have serious disagreements over Kyiv’s refusal to recognize criminal acts - the genocide of the Polish population during the Second World War.
This is evidenced by the reaction in Warsaw to yesterday's events, when Polish President Andrzej Duda traveled to Volyn to honor the memory of the fallen Poles, and Poroshenko to the Ukrainian memorial in eastern Poland.
Polish media interpret this as evidence of disagreement between the leaders of the two states, recalling that in previous years the ceremonies were held jointly. For example, during the time of Viktor Yushchenko, Kyiv and Warsaw tried to demonstrate ostentatious “reconciliation”.
“At a time when President Andrzej Duda paid tribute to the victims of the Volyn massacre, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko defiantly went to the Polish side of the border to pay tribute to the Ukrainians killed by the Poles,” writes Kresy.
Polish social activist from the organization “Restitution of Kresov” Konrad Rekas called Poroshenko’s visit a “neo-Bandera provocation.”
He noted that Poroshenko honored the memory of those killed at the site of “a preemptive attack by units of the Home Army and Selyansky battalions on the bases of the UPA and the pro-German Ukrainian Auxiliary Police.”
“The provocation of the neo-Banderaites is clear. This is an attempt to equate genocide at the hands of Ukrainian chauvinists in Volyn with protection from its repetition,” states Rekas, adding that Poroshenko’s absence in Volyn was “demonstrative.”
“Hence the euphemisms about “tragic events” and, therefore, the phrase about supposed reciprocity is repeated,” the Pole criticizes the theses of Poroshenko’s speech.
It should be noted that Polish President Duda, during his visit to Volyn, again repeated the thesis about genocide, which caused irritation in Kyiv.
“The events in Volyn in the 1940s were not a war between Poland and Ukraine, but what is today called purely ethnic cleansing. The point was to remove the Poles from these territories. The 75th anniversary of the genocide in Volyn will be celebrated on July 11. This will be a national day of remembrance for the victims of the genocide committed against Poles by Ukrainian nationalists in Volyn,” said the Polish President.
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