During Polsat News Sunday program Rymanowski’s Breakfast, a heated debate unfolded about marking the 80th anniversary of the Volhynia massacre. In-studio politicians debated the actions surrounding the commemoration, including reports that Polish and Ukrainian presidents attended a Holy Mass in Lutsk to honor the victims of Volhynia, with Andrzej Duda and Volodymyr Zelensky paying tribute to those who suffered.
The dispute over Volhynia
What many saw as signals rather than gestures became a focal point of the discussion, according to observers.
– remarked Paweł Szrot from the Polish presidential chancellery.
Confederation representative Krzysztof Bosak argued that describing the event as a special commemoration could mislead the public. He noted that the reporting showed the presidents participating in a mass organized to honor victims, not events initiated by them or by President Zelensky. Bosak emphasized that Poland needs concrete political steps regarding Volhynia, such as opening the excavation site for proper documentation and exhumation.
Stating that the move was a success was described as a misunderstanding by Bosak.
– he said.
READ MORE:
– A new opening? The presidents of Poland and Ukraine paid tribute to Volhynia’s victims at an ecumenical service in Lutsk
– Zelensky’s words: Together with President Duda, we pay tribute to all innocent Volhynia victims. Memory connects us!
PSL figure Dariusz Klimczak stressed that no gesture can replace explicit political decisions.
We need an exhumation, a dignified burial for the victims, and accountability for the perpetrators
– he stated, adding that after the events in Bucza, Poles widely concur that genocide occurred, and he asked why Ukrainian officials would not acknowledge Volhynia as genocide as well.
Radosław Fogiel of Law and Justice accused the Confederacy of political games with victims’ memory. Bosak replied to those remarks.
You are being dramatic, Mr. Fogiel
the Confederation representative retorted.
READ MORE: A moving moment after the service in Lutsk. Ukrainians gathered in front of the cathedral and said goodbye to President Duda with cries of “thank you.”
Grzegorz Schetyna, former Civic Platform leader, also pressed for clearer details about Volhynia’s massacre.
I want to see President Zelensky’s speech and the next steps from the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, which would enable exhumations
– he stated.
Fogiel responded to these comments.
It should be clear: no one in Poland claims this suffices. No one argues that Polish victims do not deserve remembrance, that exhumations and proper burials are unnecessary. The consensus is strong, yet the current debate in Volhynia sometimes borders on desecration of memory, which many found troubling.
– he noted, adding that the opposition sometimes uses the memory of victims as a tool to attack the government.
You should ease up, Klimczak remarked, urging a more measured approach.
Gentlemen, stop turning this tragedy into a political instrument
replied a PiS member of parliament.
You lack competence, you should be removed from the chair of the Sejm Foreign Affairs Committee
Klimczak replied, sparking further debate.
The issue was described as inconceivable to the core
– added.
You have no right to speak to MP Klimczak in that tone
– posted Włodzimierz Czarzasty, leader of the left.
Schetyna insisted that the current moment is not only about gestures but about tangible actions, suggesting it may be time to close the case in the near future.
This is not about ritual sentiment, but about meaningful steps that could shape the shared history of Poland and Ukraine
he observed.
READ MORE:
– ONLY HERE. Jabłoński on the Lutsk meeting: an important gesture, an important step, but there is still much work to do
– ONLY HERE. Kaleta: The joint Lutsk celebrations are a first step toward a common Polish-Ukrainian historical narrative
Fogel’s word manipulation
Following the broadcast, recordings circulated on Twitter showing Radosław Fogel’s remarks edited to imply a critical stance toward excavations. The PiS deputy rejected these edits, calling the accusation a sham.
The claim that the speaker criticized the excavations was described as a deliberate distortion propagated by accounts sympathetic to the Confederacy, as he noted.
– he wrote.
kk/Polsat NEWS/Twitter
Source attribution: wPolityce