On Could 30, the final day of Poland’s presidential marketing campaign, Karol Nawrocki laid flowers at a monument that has lengthy sparked controversy.
The 14-metre tall statue commemorating the Volhynian bloodbath depicts a topped eagle, the image of Poland, with a cross form reduce out from its chest. In that cross, a toddler’s physique is impaled on a trident, representing the Ukrainian coat of arms, the “tryzub”.
The statue was revealed in July 2024 in Domostawa, a village in southeastern Poland near Ukraine’s border. It commemorates the ethnic cleaning of Poles by the Ukrainian Rebel Military within the Polish-Ukrainian borderland between 1943 to 1945. Whereas statistics range, it’s assumed that between 40,000 and 100,000 folks perished within the bloodbath.
However earlier than Domostawa accepted the monument, a number of cities, together with Rzeszow, Torun and Stalowa Wola, refused to host it because of the brutality of the sculptor’s imaginative and prescient and so as to not harm relations with Ukraine.
To Nawrocki, previously the pinnacle of the Institute of Nationwide Remembrance, a state analysis institute, the scene felt just like the place to finish his presidential bid.
“The Volhynian Bloodbath was a merciless crime. The strategies of murdering Poles had been merciless. It was a neighbourly crime, as a result of neighbours murdered neighbours. It was additionally a theft, as a result of Ukrainian nationalists typically robbed their neighbours,” Nawrocki stated.
“We’ve the correct to speak about it. I’ve the correct to speak about it because the president of the Institute of Nationwide Remembrance and I’ll have this proper because the president of Poland after June 1.”
Expensive President @ZelenskyyUa, thanks on your message. I’m trying ahead to countinue partnership of our international locations, primarily based on mutual respect and understanding. I consider it requires not solely good dialogue but additionally fixing overdue historic points. Poland has been Ukraine’s…
— Karol Nawrocki (@NawrockiKn) June 3, 2025
Throughout his in the end profitable marketing campaign, President-elect Nawrocki, a nationalist, stated that Poles ought to have precedence in queues for physician’s appointments and referred to as to restrict Ukrainians’ entry to advantages. He additionally stated he was towards Ukraine becoming a member of NATO and the European Union, a stark distinction from Poland’s conventional place of help as Kyiv fights off Russian forces.
Warsaw’s help, Nawrocki believes, ought to rely upon Ukraine making amends for the Volhynian bloodbath, which may embody the exhumation of Polish victims.
Following the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in early 2022, Poland, underneath the rule of the Legislation and Justice – or PiS – social gathering, which supported Nawrocki, accepted greater than 1,000,000 Ukrainian refugees and backed Ukraine with weapons as Kyiv’s different European allies, similar to Germany, hesitated.
Hundreds of Poles hosted Ukrainians of their houses as Poland turned the loudest pro-Ukrainian voice within the EU and NATO.
However whereas PiS has a protracted historical past of supporting Ukraine all through its revolutions in 2004 and 2014, and following the Russian onslaught, anti-Ukrainian rhetoric is now taking maintain.
‘Enjoying the anti-Ukrainian card’
Within the first spherical of the presidential election, 51 p.c of Poles voted for candidates who had touted positions at odds with Ukraine’s ambitions. Even the liberal candidate from the Civic Platform, Rafal Trzaskowski, prompt that Ukrainians who don’t pay taxes must be disadvantaged of kid advantages.
In keeping with analysis by the Mieroszewski Centre, in 2022, 83 p.c of Ukrainians had a optimistic opinion of Poles, however by November 2024, this quantity fell to 41 p.c.
In January 2025, 51 p.c of Poles stated that Ukrainian refugees obtain an excessive amount of help. Virtually half of respondents stated that tough historic points must be solved to enhance Polish-Ukrainian relations.
Analysis printed in February 2025 by CBOS discovered that simply 30 p.c of Poles had a optimistic angle in the direction of Ukrainians, down from 51 p.c in 2023, whereas 38 p.c had a adverse angle in the direction of their Ukrainian neighbours, up from 17 p.c in 2023.
“I feel that Poland ought to proceed its help for Ukraine, however I’m dissatisfied with the place of the Ukrainian state. If not for Poland’s sturdy and decisive response firstly of the full-scale invasion, which inspired Europe’s help, Ukraine wouldn’t survive. After which in entrance of the United Nations Normal Meeting, Ukraine’s president in contrast Poland to Russia,” stated Nawrocki voter Michal, a 33-year-old journey information.
“Ukrainians by no means confirmed any regret for the Volhynian bloodbath. And I discover it unacceptable that figures like Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych, who’re chargeable for massacres of Poles throughout World Battle II, are thought of Ukraine’s nationwide heroes,” Michal added, referring to the Ukrainian nationalist leaders and Nazi collaborators.
The Ministry of Overseas Affairs of Ukraine considers the choice of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland to determine 11 July as a Day of Remembrance for the victims of the so-called “genocide dedicated by the Group of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian… pic.twitter.com/c5nu1hPaDl
— MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) June 5, 2025
Michal’s views aren’t unusual.
In the meantime, grudges towards Ukrainian refugees have swelled.
“In February and March 2022, in a couple of weeks, Poland turned a rustic that was not culturally uniform. For a lot of Poles, who had no expertise of range, the actual fact that instantly their neighbours spoke a special language turned tough to simply accept,” stated Rafal Pankowski from the antiracism By no means Once more affiliation.
Presently, greater than 50 p.c of Poles declare solidarity with Ukrainian refugees, down from 90 p.c in 2022, he stated, citing his organisation’s polling knowledge.
“One of many explanation why help for Ukrainians has fallen is right-wing propaganda and conspiracy theories unfold on social media. We’ve been monitoring the scenario because the starting of the conflict, and it has been clear that in the long term, taking part in the anti-Ukrainian card will carry the far proper political advantages. And that is what occurred on this marketing campaign.”
Igor Krawetz, a Ukrainian commentator who has lived in Poland for nearly 20 years, stated that he’s stunned on the velocity of the shift. Two years in the past, open hostility in the direction of Ukrainians was considered as inappropriate, even among the many proper, he stated.
“Polish anti-Ukrainian xenophobia is not restricted to areas the place Ukrainian migrants compete with Poles, similar to low-skilled jobs. Now xenophobia is expressed by the center class, too, who see that Ukrainians moved companies to Warsaw, purchase costly residences and are not poor folks that want the Poles’ help,” he added.
The shift brings again recollections for Krawetz.
Polish solidarity with Ukraine led to disillusionment and mutual accusations in 2004, when Poles supported Ukraine’s Orange Revolution and in 2014, after the Euromaidan.
“Poles have gotten used to seeing Ukraine’s misfortunes as their very own ache. For the previous 20 years, throughout crises, there have been romantic waves of brotherly help that lasted for a number of months and had been all the time adopted by complaints: ‘I helped you in 2022 and you continue to haven’t received the conflict’ sort of factor,” Krawetz stated.
“I’ve survived the primary and second wave of solidarity with Ukraine. I’ll survive the final one, too. It all the time comes again full circle.”