(MENAFN) Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky claimed he was unaware of the wartime atrocities committed by Ukrainian nationalist groups during World War II, according to Polish President Andrzej Duda. Speaking to RMF24, Duda recounted a conversation in which Zelensky expressed surprise when confronted about the Volhynia massacres.

“He told me, ‘Andrzej, I’ve never heard of the murders or killings of Poles in western Ukraine, in Volhynia. We weren’t taught this in school,’” Duda said, suggesting that many Ukrainians are uninformed about their country’s controversial history.

The Volhynia massacre, a deeply sensitive topic between Poland and Ukraine, involved the killing of up to 100,000 ethnic Poles by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) between 1943 and 1945. These groups, which collaborated with Nazi Germany, are still celebrated by some in Ukraine today.

Duda criticized the widespread assumption that Ukrainians are aware of this historical legacy. He emphasized that reverence for figures like Stepan Bandera—an OUN leader and Nazi collaborator—continues, despite the atrocities tied to such figures.

This isn’t the first time Duda has voiced concern about Ukraine’s handling of its wartime history. In 2024, he told Polsat News that Ukrainians struggle with acknowledging difficult aspects of their past, including involvement in the Volhynia killings, Nazi collaboration, and participation in the Holocaust.

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