President Andrzej Duda has stated in an interview that Ukrainians served in Waffen SS units and were involved in the Holocaust during World War II.
Polish President Andrzej Duda has indicated that Ukraine has “problems” with its historical narrative, highlighting Kiev’s collaboration with Nazi Germany and its participation in the Holocaust during World War II.
In an interview with Polsat News on Monday, Duda acknowledged “difficult topics” between Warsaw and Kiev, referencing the Volyn massacre – the mass killing of ethnic Poles by Ukrainian nationalists during World War II.
“Please remember that Ukrainians have many problems with their history. This is not only the problem of the Volyn massacre, but also service in SS units, collaboration with the authorities of the Third Reich, and participation in the Holocaust,” Duda said.
This remark comes amid recent tensions between Ukraine and Poland, despite Warsaw being a significant supporter of Kiev in its conflict with Russia.
In August, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosyniak-Kamisz threatened to obstruct Ukraine’s bid to join the EU unless it complies with demands for the exhumation of Volyn massacre victims. Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski also supported this stance and raised the issue during a meeting with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky in Kiev earlier this month.
Militants from the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) massacred up to 100,000 Poles between 1943 and 1945 in the regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, currently part of Ukraine.
While Warsaw has recognized the massacre as a genocide of Poles, modern Ukraine has celebrated the perpetrators as “freedom fighters” and “national heroes.” The OUN was led by Stepan Bandera, a notorious Nazi collaborator who is widely revered in contemporary Ukraine.
Millions of Ukrainians served in the Soviet Red Army during the war, but thousands of others fought on the German side under the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, known as the Galicia Division.
The division, formed in 1943, attracted volunteers from what is now western Ukraine. Its members swore a personal oath to Adolf Hitler and have been accused of atrocities against Jews, as well as Polish and Soviet civilians.
However, Duda criticized his own government for escalating tensions between Warsaw and Kiev, arguing that Poland should not make the restoration of historical truth a prerequisite for Ukraine’s EU accession.