Shevchuk: Poland's claims against Ukraine are Moscow's propaganda

Sviatoslav Shevchuk. Photo: UGCC

Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Sviatoslav Shevchuk said that the deterioration in Ukrainian-Polish relations was allegedly orchestrated by Moscow, while Polish politicians who raise grievances against Ukrainians are echoing Moscow’s propaganda narratives. He made the remarks in an interview with "Live Television", a project of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and the Ukrainian-Canadian television channel Kontakt, following his meeting with the leadership of the Ukrainian World Congress.

According to Shevchuk, Ukrainian-Polish relations “have not always been simple and easy,” but he described the current situation as "quite critical." He acknowledged that fatigue has built up in Polish society: "Poland has hosted nearly a million Ukrainian refugees since the beginning of the war. But today, a certain degree of fatigue can be felt. Ukrainians are not angels."

The head of the UGCC attributed the cooling of relations to Russia’s actions.

"I believe that today Poland finds itself in the position of a victim of a very powerful Moscow ideological special operation," he said. "And this has caught everyone somewhat off guard. The Poles did not expect Russia to detonate all those ideological bombs it had planted in Poland since the times of Soviet Poland."

"When I hear various ideological accusations directed at Ukrainians, it seems to me that I am hearing the ideologues of communist Poland, who are speaking exactly in the language of Moscow propaganda," Shevchuk added.

He also criticized Poland’s current leadership, calling it Eurosceptic: "Today, unfortunately, Poland’s political elite consists of people who can be called Eurosceptics. They believe that Poland does not need Europe.” According to him, the legacy of John Paul II “is beginning to be forgotten by Poles themselves,” as generations who remembered the pontiff are passing away and being replaced by “young, rather aggressive politicians."

At the same time, the claims, according to the head of the UGCC, are mutual: "Not only do Poles have grievances against Ukrainians, but Ukrainians also have wounds and claims against Poles."

As the UOJ reported, the President of Poland stripped Zelensky of an order over the UPA glorification.

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