European Parliament President Roberta Metsola rejected a request by MEP Anna Bryłka for a moment of silence in memory of Poles murdered by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). The decision came on the eve of the 82nd anniversary of the Volhynia Massacre’s “Bloody Sunday” — a genocide that remains deeply etched in the memory of many Poles.
The Victims Call Not for Revenge, but for Memory and Truth
On Thursday, the day before the National Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Genocide committed by Ukrainian nationalists, Anna Bryłka — an MEP from the Confederation party — appealed to EP President Roberta Metsola to honor the victims of the Volhynia Massacre with a minute of silence. Her request was denied.
“There will be no minute of silence in the European Parliament for the victims of the Ukrainian genocide in Volhynia. President Roberta Metsola has rejected the motion I submitted on behalf of Patriots for Europe,”
Bryłka announced.
“Not all victims of totalitarian regimes are treated equally in the European Union. The victims cry out not for revenge, but for memory and truth!”
she added.
This marks yet another instance in which EU institutions have avoided officially commemorating the Volhynia Massacre, despite historians estimating that around 100,000 Poles were killed by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) between 1943 and 1945.
The Sunday That Shook Volhynia
The National Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Genocide, observed on July 11, marks the peak of the mass killings of Poles carried out by the UPA. On that day in 1943, Ukrainian nationalists launched coordinated attacks on more than 150 Polish villages and settlements. The massacres were premeditated: entire families were slaughtered, homes were set ablaze, and those who tried to flee were hunted down and murdered in brutal fashion.
Historians point out that the decision to exterminate the Polish population was made by a small circle of leaders within the OUN-B (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists – Bandera faction). Among them were Dmytro Klyachkivsky, Vasyl Ivakhiv, and Ivan Lytvynchuk. Although Stepan Bandera, the formal leader of the OUN, was imprisoned by the Germans at the time, researchers believe he remained in contact with the organization.