Budanov warned of a deterioration in relations with Poland on the eve of the anniversary of the Volhynia tragedy
A new phase of tension may arise in relations between Ukraine and Poland in the coming days. This was stated by Kirill Budanov, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, while commenting on the situation on the eve of the anniversary of the Volhynia tragedy.
According to Budanov, the most difficult period in bilateral relations is yet to come.
“It will definitely be ahead of us. There’s no big secret here. We have a little less than a week left until July 11, which marks the anniversary of the Volhynia tragedy,” he said.
Budanov noted that, according to available information, the Polish side is preparing a series of steps that could lead to a new escalation. At the same time, he emphasized that Ukraine will not change its position under any external pressure.
“Ukraine will not accept ultimatums from anyone in this world. The last entity to try to issue us an ultimatum was the Russian Federation. No offense to Poland—but it’s a bit more powerful than Poland. And we didn’t accept it anyway. Yes, it’s hard, it’s bad, and there’s a lot of bloodshed. But we didn’t even accept their ultimatum. So why does anyone think we’ll accept something else from another side? You shouldn’t try to negotiate with us using ultimatums,” the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate emphasized.
At the same time, he stressed that Kyiv does not plan to act preemptively, but in the event of unfriendly moves by Poland, it reserves the right to respond.
“If we recognize that someone is taking immature steps, why should we respond by making missteps ourselves? Let them make their move—we’ll see, and we’ll respond. No one is going to sit idly by,” Budanov stated.
The head of Ukrainian intelligence also expressed the view that the current tension could end in one of two ways—either further escalation or gradual de-escalation. At the same time, he expressed hope that Ukrainian-Polish relations would eventually return to constructive dialogue.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that he expects a “clear signal” from Ukraine to ease tensions in bilateral relations. According to him, the cause was President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s decision to name one of the units after the heroes of the UPA.
The issue of historical memory—particularly the assessment of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army’s activities—has remained one of the most sensitive topics in relations between Ukraine and Poland for many years. Despite this, both countries continue to cooperate in the areas of security, defense, and support for Ukraine during the full-scale war. This was reported by Polsat News.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk emphasized that the development of Polish-Ukrainian relations must be based on mutual goodwill. According to him, constructive dialogue is impossible if only one side demonstrates a willingness to cooperate.
