Polish historian on Bandera: why Warsaw's expectations were not met

Polish historian Lukasz Adamski shared his thoughts on the joint history of Ukraine and Poland after Volodymyr Zelensky came to power. In particular, he noted that Poland felt hope for a new perspective from the Ukrainian authorities on the figure of Stepan Bandera.

«A law was passed regarding the UPA, (recognizing members of the OUN and UPA as fighters for Ukraine's independence; the document was adopted in April 2015 - «Glavkom»), which prohibited questioning the legitimacy of the UPA's struggle for Ukraine's independence in the 20th century,» the historian explained.

It was also noted that in Poland in 2018, a law was passed that provided for criminal responsibility for denying the crimes of Ukrainian collaborators of the Third Reich. When Zelensky was appointed President of Ukraine, Warsaw hoped for progress on the issues of exhuming victims and discussing Bandera's figure.

«I am glad to announce that next year the dialogue between our historians will strengthen. There is a plan to hold a large congress of Polish and Ukrainian historians. It should be a sincere conversation involving not only liberal historians,» Adamski added.

Adamski also noted that Russian-Polish disputes in politics have caused tensions between the countries, and he expressed the opinion that the actions of Poles in Volhynia were a reaction to the Ukrainian insurgent army, which began ethnic cleansing.

In the speech of the Polish historian, the tension in relations between the countries was emphasized, as well as hopes for improved dialogue between Ukrainian and Polish historians regarding their shared history.