Beginning his address in Polish, Ruslan Stefanchuk said that from the first moments of the Russian invasion the Polish nation and the Polish state have stood firmly, shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine.
“You’ve been telling the whole world, boldly and loudly, that you won’t accept the primacy of might over right, and the violation of principles we all live by,” he was quoted by Polskie Radio.
At the request of the Ukrainian politician, Polish parliamentarians observed a minute’s silence in memory of “those who gave their life for a free Ukraine, for a free Poland, for the values of the free Europe.”
In his speech, Stefanchuk mentioned the "approaching 80th anniversary of the horrific events in Volhynia,” known as the Volhynia Massacres.
Ruslan Stefanchuk told Polish lawmakers that the two countries should work together to identify and honour Polish victims buried in Ukraine, the Guardian cited the Ukrainian parliamentary leader’s speech in Poland’s Sejm.
About 100,000 Poles were massacred in 1943-44 by Ukrainian nationalists and others in Volhynia and other regions that were then in eastern Poland, under Nazi German occupation, and which are now part of Ukraine.
“Human life has equal value, regardless of nationality, race, sex or religion,” Stefanchuk told Polish lawmakers.
“With this awareness we will cooperate with you, dear Polish friends, and we will accept the truth regardless of how uncompromising it may be.”
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the 1943-44 massacre. Nationalists burned down entire villages and slaughtered all of their residents. Poland considers the events to be genocide. In retribution, an estimated 15,000 Ukrainians were killed.
Stefanchuk expressed gratitude to the victims' families for cultivating a memory that "does not call for vengeance or hatred, but serves as a warning that nothing like that can ever happen again between our nations."