Poland threatens to block Ukraine’s EU bid over WWII massacre dispute

Kyiv’s decision to honor World War II fighters who killed about 100,000 Poles has revived a bitter historical dispute, straining Polish-Ukrainian solidarity. After Russia’s 2022 invasion, millions of Poles rushed to help Ukrainian refugees with food, shelter, and support. That unity is now a distant memory. Today, the two countries are locked in an angry row over history. Poland has threatened to block Ukraine’s EU accession until it resolves the issue. At the center of the conflict is the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a nationalist group that fought both Soviet and Nazi forces during World War II. In 1943-44, the UPA carried out a mass killing of about 100,000 ethnic Poles in Volhynia and eastern Galicia. Ukraine recently honored UPA fighters as national heroes. For Poland, the move is a deep insult. Polish officials demand that Ukraine acknowledge the massacre as genocide and allow the exhumation of victims’ remains. Kyiv argues that honoring the UPA is part of its struggle for independence, not a provocation against Poland. But the dispute has escalated into mutual mud-slinging and angry rhetoric. The row threatens to undermine the strong alliance both countries need against Russia.