Ukraine is compiling lists of figures buried in Poland for reburial

Kyiv, in collaboration with the Office of the President and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is compiling lists of prominent Ukrainian historical figures buried in Poland with a view to their subsequent reburial in their homeland. 

This was stated in an interview by Ukraine’s Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Bodnar, according to Radio Liberty. According to the diplomat, the process of compiling proposals is currently underway, taking into account the opinions of the relatives of the deceased and the Ukrainian community abroad.

The ambassador noted that there are numerous Ukrainian graves in Poland, as more than 40,000 soldiers of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, led by Symon Petliura, moved there in 1920, and the government-in-exile had its seat in Tarnów. Well-known graves and memorial sites of Ukrainian heroes and leaders are located at the Wola Cemetery in Warsaw, as well as in Kalisz, Pikulice, and Łańcut. The Polish side, in particular the Institute of National Remembrance of Poland, generally views the initiative to repatriate the remains positively and is coordinating the necessary legal procedures with Kyiv.

At the same time, Bodnar noted that the recent transfer from Luxembourg to Kyiv of the remains of OUN leader Andriy Melnyk, who was buried at the National Military Memorial Cemetery, sparked public debate and some negative reaction in Poland. This is due to the established negative attitude of Polish society toward the activities of the OUN in general. The diplomat emphasized that although Melnyk was not involved in the crimes highlighted by Warsaw, in Polish discussions his figure is often mistakenly and automatically equated with Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych.