‘Zelensky didn’t get it.’ Poland intends to put pressure on Ukraine during its presidency of the EU

Poland intends to use its upcoming presidency of the European Union to pressure Ukraine into exhuming the victims of the Volhynia Massacre.

This was reported by the Polish publication Onet, citing sources.

Warsaw has decided to take a tougher stance following a recent quarrel between Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The leverage will be Poland’s six-month presidency of the EU, which begins in January 2025. Warsaw will play a key role in the negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.

The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the Volhynia issue is currently their main and essentially only demand. “Military and defense issues will not be a bargaining chip” in the negotiations.

“Sikorski convinced Zelensky to settle historical issues with Poland now because he will pay a lower price for them than during the accession negotiations. This did not get through to Zelensky. Now the Ukrainians will come to us on various matters. They are already doing so,” the source says.

Recently, Kyiv requested that Poland, during its presidency, open all sections of the negotiations simultaneously, which would be unprecedented and very difficult.

“We know that Zelensky is under enormous pressure, but it cannot be that favors only go one way. Meanwhile, Ukraine has taken a demanding position. In defense matters, we can understand this. But in other areas, this needs to change,” the source adds.

It should be recalled that earlier, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said that Ukraine should “find a solution” to the Volhynia Massacre issue “before Poland takes tougher measures.”

Poland also threatened that Ukraine would not join the European Union until the issue of the Volhynia Massacre is resolved.

The Volhynia Massacre refers to events that took place in 1942–1943 in Western Ukraine. On the orders of the local leadership of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, ethnic Poles who lived in the territory of present-day Volhynia before the start of World War II were killed. The number of Polish victims, according to historians, ranges from 50,000 to 100,000 people. In 2016, the Polish Sejm recognized the Volhynia Massacre as genocide.