Speaking on the 83rd anniversary of the Volhynia Massacre, when the nationalist Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) killed thousands of Polish civilians in 1943, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said: “What does a good future need? It needs truth, it needs remembrance, and it gives forgiveness.” The remarks came during commemorations in the Ukrainian town of Olyka, where Kosiniak-Kamysz said Poland’s focus was not on reopening old wounds, but ensuring victims were remembered and given proper burials. “I come here with a sign of peace, as to friends, among whom we speak honestly,” he said, adding that Poland needed “understanding” from the Ukrainian side on the issue. “For us today, being in truth, remembrance, exhumation [of the remains of massacre victims] and a dignified burial is a matter of extraordinary importance,” he said. Differing takes on the Volhynia Massacre are at the center of a row that has strained ties between Kyiv and Warsaw, which has been among Ukraine’s staunchest backers in its war with Russia. ‘Bloody Sunday’ On July 11, 1943, known in Poland as “Bloody Sunday”, Ukrainian nationalist fighters launched a wave of attacks on Polish villages in the Volhynia region, then part of occupied Poland. Polish historians estimate that tens of thousands of Poles were killed there and in neighboring areas during a wider campaign of violence. Poland officially recognizes the killings as genocide, while Ukraine has also condemned the crimes but has resisted some Polish demands over terminology, exhumations and commemorations. While many Ukrainians view the Ukrainian Insurgent Army as a symbol of anti-Soviet resistance and the fight for independence, in Poland it is largely associated with the Volhynia killings. Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Saturday that confronting the past was necessary for maintaining a close alliance between the two countries. ‘Friendship means telling the truth’ “Friendship means telling each other the truth, even the difficult truth,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said. “Friendship means moving forward together despite the experiences of the past.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy caused anger in Poland when he last month granted the honorary title “Heroes of the UPA” to a Ukrainian military unit. The decision triggered a diplomatic row, with Polish President Karol Nawrocki later stripping Zelenskyy of Poland’s highest state honor, the Order of the White Eagle. Kosiniak-Kamysz said that the anniversary of the killings should serve as a warning that such violence between the two nations must never happen again. “We cannot fall into a deadly spiral of hatred,” he said, adding that reconciliation required “dignified remembrance.”