The history of Volhynia continues to cause tensions between Poland and Ukraine. While the Polish authorities have declared the massacres to be a genocide, Ukraine rejects that label.
The monument, which was funded by the Polish Army Veterans’ Association in America, has drawn controversy due to its brutal depiction of a baby being impaled on a Ukrainian trident. Several cities refused to host the statue.
Thousands of people attended Sunday’s official opening, including figures from the far-right Confederation (Konfederacja) party. However, Poland’s two main political parties, the centrist Civic Platform (PO) and national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS), did not send representatives.