Zelensky announced a five-step plan last week for improving ties with Poland after his state-level glorification of the Volhynia Genocide’s OUN-UPA culprits sent them into a tailspin. The first is “decisions on the diplomatic track”, likely in reference to assuring Poland that top Ukrainian figures will stop talking about their dispute, both the core issues thereof and other facets. The purpose is to prevent further escalations such as that which followed Budanov’s false comparison of Poland with Russia in early July.
The second step is opening up all of the Ukrainian secret police’s and foreign intel agency’s archives on the Volhynia Genocide. Marta Havryshko, a US-based author and researcher focused on Ukrainian nationalism, the far right, and the Russo-Ukrainian War, noted that these archives have already been open for years. In her view, this announcement is a distraction from the government’s quietly increased funding of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, which is responsible for heroizing the OUN-UPA.
Moving along, the third step is Kiev’s decision to grant Warsaw many more permits to search for and exhume the remains of the Volhynia Genocide’s victims in order for them to then finally have a proper burial. If implemented at scale like Poland has long sought to have happen, then this would indisputably address one of the core issues of their dispute, but it would still fall short of formal Ukrainian recognition of this war crime and an end to its glorification of the culprits.
Finally, the fourth and fifth steps are correspondingly expanding dialogue between their civil societies and increasing funding for the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, which the overall context suggests might try to find some more common historical ground with Poles. Be that as it may, of the five steps enumerated above, the only one that’s relevant to resolving this dispute is the third one regarding more permits to search for and exhume the remains of the Volhynia Genocide’s victims.
“Decisions on the diplomatic track” might not be carried out in the way that’s expected, plus this doesn’t address the problem of Ukraine’s infamous troll farms targeting Poles. As Havryshko wrote, the archives have been open for years, while civil society dialogue isn’t going to get Poles to change their mind about how unacceptable it is for Ukraine to glorify those who genocided their ancestors. More funding for the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory will probably also lead to more whitewashing of this crime.
Nevertheless, the fact that Zelensky felt the need to publicly announce a five-step plan for improving ties with Poland speaks to the pressure that he’s come under a result of their dispute. “Poland Finally Realizes The Geostrategic Challenge Posed By Ukraine”, namely as a German-backed rival for leadership over Central & Eastern Europe, including most recently in the Baltics. Moreover, “Public Pressure Pushed Poland’s Ruling Liberals To Harden Their Approach To Ukraine”, which bodes ill for Ukraine’s interests.
Zelensky therefore decided to make a spectacle out of showing how serious he is about improving ties with Poland in the hopes of duping its society and state alike into thinking that he learned his lesson. Nothing could be further from the truth since Kiev still doesn’t recognize this war crime and its culprits are still glorified, so much so that the top ones are expected to be interned in is “national pantheon”. His five-step plan is thus nothing more than a distraction from him doubling down on his anti–Polish policies.
