Zelensky urges Ukraine‑Poland unity amid Volyn exhumations and Russian threat
On 11 July, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on X that the memory of civilian victims of the Second World War in Volhynia must not undermine the Ukraine‑Poland alliance in the face of the common danger posed by Russia. He noted joint religious ceremonies held in both countries and said a new phase of exhumations will begin on 13 July in the former villages of Ostrivky and Volya Ostrovetska, lasting until 7 August, to locate and identify the remains of roughly 700 Polish civilians killed in the 1943 Volyn massacres.
Zelenskyy called for “full truth” and a “Christian honour” of the victims, stating, “We must not let the past cast doubt on the future of our peoples, of Ukraine, Poland, and all of Europe.” He added that the shared threat “is called Russia.” Ukrainian authorities intend to speed up the search work, with the Ukrainian Institute of Memory, the Polish Institute of National Remembrance and the Medical University of Wrocław participating.
The same day the Russian Defence Ministry claimed control of the settlement of Bachevsk in Sumy and reported attacks on Ukrainian fuel, energy, transport and port facilities, though these claims were not independently verified. Despite recent diplomatic tensions over Ukraine’s naming of a unit after the UPA “Heroes,” both governments reiterated the need for cooperation against the Russian threat.