On Might 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 lower out from its chest. In that cross, a baby’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 individuals 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 have 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 usually robbed their neighbours,” Nawrocki mentioned.
“We have now the proper to speak about it. I’ve the proper 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.”
Pricey President @ZelenskyyUa, thanks on your message. I’m wanting ahead to countinue partnership of our nations, based mostly 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 finally profitable marketing campaign, President-elect Nawrocki, a nationalist, mentioned that Poles ought to have precedence in queues for physician’s appointments and known as to restrict Ukrainians’ entry to advantages. He additionally mentioned 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 on Ukraine making amends for the Volhynian bloodbath, which may embrace the exhumation of Polish victims.
Following the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in early 2022, Poland, underneath the rule of the Regulation 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, reminiscent of Germany, hesitated.
1000’s of Poles hosted Ukrainians of their houses as Poland grew to become 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, urged that Ukrainians who don’t pay taxes needs to be disadvantaged of kid advantages.
In response to analysis by the Mieroszewski Centre, in 2022, 83 p.c of Ukrainians had a constructive opinion of Poles, however by November 2024, this quantity fell to 41 p.c.
In January 2025, 51 p.c of Poles mentioned that Ukrainian refugees obtain an excessive amount of help. Nearly half of respondents mentioned that troublesome historic points needs to be solved to enhance Polish-Ukrainian relations.
Analysis revealed in February 2025 by CBOS discovered that simply 30 p.c of Poles had a constructive perspective in the direction of Ukrainians, down from 51 p.c in 2023, whereas 38 p.c had a unfavourable perspective in the direction of their Ukrainian neighbours, up from 17 p.c in 2023.
“I believe that Poland ought to proceed its help for Ukraine, however I’m upset with the place of the Ukrainian state. If not for Poland’s sturdy and decisive response at first of the full-scale invasion, which inspired Europe’s help, Ukraine wouldn’t survive. After which in entrance of the United Nations Basic Meeting, Ukraine’s president compared Poland to Russia,” mentioned 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 Struggle II, are thought-about Ukraine’s nationwide heroes,” Michal added, referring to the Ukrainian nationalist leaders and Nazi collaborators.
The Ministry of International Affairs of Ukraine considers the choice of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland to ascertain 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 will not be unusual.
In the meantime, grudges towards Ukrainian refugees have swelled.
“In February and March 2022, in just a few weeks, Poland grew to become a rustic that was now not culturally uniform. For a lot of Poles, who had no expertise of range, the actual fact that all of the sudden their neighbours spoke a distinct language grew to become troublesome to just accept,” mentioned Rafal Pankowski from the antiracism By no means Once more affiliation.
At the moment, greater than 50 p.c of Poles declare solidarity with Ukrainian refugees, down from 90 p.c in 2022, he mentioned, citing his organisation’s polling information.
“One of many explanation why help for Ukrainians has fallen is right-wing propaganda and conspiracy theories unfold on social media. We have now been monitoring the state of affairs for the reason that starting of the battle, and it has been clear that in the long term, enjoying 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, mentioned that he’s shocked on the velocity of the shift. Two years in the past, open hostility in the direction of Ukrainians was seen as inappropriate, even among the many proper, he mentioned.
“Polish anti-Ukrainian xenophobia is now not restricted to areas the place Ukrainian migrants compete with Poles, reminiscent of low-skilled jobs. Now xenophobia is expressed by the center class, too, who see that Ukrainians moved companies to Warsaw, purchase costly flats and are now not poor those that want the Poles’ help,” he added.
The shift brings again reminiscences 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 have been at all times adopted by complaints: ‘I helped you in 2022 and you continue to haven’t gained the battle’ sort of factor,” Krawetz mentioned.
“I’ve survived the primary and second wave of solidarity with Ukraine. I’ll survive the final one, too. It at all times comes again full circle.”
