We will not rest until we honor victims of genocide in Volyn, - Polish Defense Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz
At a ceremony marking the 84th anniversary of the creation of the Peasant Battalions, Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz once again spoke of the need to make the truth about the Volyn tragedy "universally recognised and understood" in Europe and the world.
According to Censor.NET, citing European Pravda, this was reported by the PAP agency.
It is noted that the minister took part in a ceremony marking the 84th anniversary of the creation of the Peasant Battalions, which took place in front of the monument to the soldiers of the Peasant Battalions and the Union of National Women in Warsaw.
Kosiniak-Kamysh stressed that he always remembers history and heroes, regardless of "whether he is a representative of the ruling party or in the opposition".
"I would like to make a promise to all of us here, a promise to Poland, a promise to my compatriots: we will not rest until we honour the memory of the victims of the genocide in Volyn," he said.
He noted that the truth must be "universally recognised and understood in Europe and the world".
Kosiniak-Kamysh added that "among the first victims of those events were soldiers of the Peasant Battalions, mostly Polish peasants". The Minister noted that he did not mention the tragedy "to open the wound, because you cannot open wounds that have not healed".
He added that this is the way to talk to friends, i.e. clearly and concisely.
The Peasant Battalions (originally the Peasant Guard) were formed in August 1940. The organisation was the armed forces of the People's Party, but it also included members of the Union of Rural Youth of the Republic. At its peak, the organisation had about 170,000 members, all from rural areas - it did not operate in cities.
Among the most famous achievements of the organisation was the provision of intelligence material on the testing of German V-1 and V-2 missiles, although in everyday life the units were mainly engaged in destroying railway traction and communications, freeing prisoners from Gestapo arrests and protecting villagers from pacification. Politically, the organisation was the closest to the Home Army, taking an anti-communist and anti-nationalist stance.
The peasant battalions disrupted German plans to deport and exterminate the Polish population in Zamość, which were part of the criminal master plan "Ost". The Peasant Battalions began an armed struggle against the Germans, which grew into the Zamość Uprising.
After the war, the soldiers of the Peasant Battalions co-founded the Polish Peasant Party, whose leader was Kosiniak-Kamysh.
Questions about the exhumation of victims of the Volyn tragedy
As reported, in September, the Polish Foreign Ministry said that without resolving the issue of the exhumation of the victims of the Volyn tragedy, Ukraine cannot dream of joining the EU. At the same time, Polish President Andrzej Duda said that attempts to block Ukraine's accession to the European Union play into the hands of Vladimir Putin's policy.
During a visit to Warsaw on 1 October, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Ukraine was ready to discuss with Poland controversial issues of common history, including the Volyn tragedy of 1943-1944.
On 2 October, the UINP stated that it planned to conduct search operations for the victims of the Volyn tragedy in 2025. The Institute also stated that it remained open to cooperation with Polish institutions in the field of searching, preserving and caring for the places of memory of Ukrainians in Poland and Poles in Ukraine, and complained that official inter-institutional mechanisms for resolving problematic issues with the Polish side in the restoration and preservation of places of memory have not been in place for a long time.
Drobovych believes that Ukrainian and Polish officials need to finally move to constructive action "in the problematic issues of exhumation and burials" and proposed a roadmap.
On 4 October, the Polish Minister of Defence confirmed his intention to block Ukraine's accession to the EU until the issue of exhumation and commemoration of the victims of the Volyn tragedy is resolved.
