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Ukraine will keep issuing Polish exhumation permits despite historical tensions. Dispute “causes joy in Moscow,” Kyiv says

✇Euromaidan Press
By: Olena Mukhina

The monument to murdered Polish civilians in Huta Peniatska in Ukraine's Lviv Oblast was restored in 2017. Photo: NV

Ukraine remains ready to continue issuing permits for Polish exhumation work despite intensifying historical disputes between Ukraine and Poland, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi says, per Ukrinform. Exhumation work at the site of the Huta Pieniacka continues. 

The spokesperson added that the intensifying tension between Ukraine and Poland causes "joy in Moscow." He called on allies to seek grounds for unity against the common enemy that "wants to destroy both Ukraine and Poland." 

The current Polish-Ukrainian historical dispute centers on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's 27 May decision to confer the honorary title "named after UPA Heroes" on the Separate Center of Special Operations "Pivnich" of Ukraine's Special Operations Forces. The Polish Foreign Ministry condemned the decision.

The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) is a deeply contested figure in Polish-Ukrainian historical memory. Ukrainian historiography presents UPA as anti-Soviet and anti-Nazi independence fighters. Polish historiography emphasizes UPA's association with the 1943-44 Volhynia massacres.

Zelenskyy UPA-naming decision and Polish reaction

Tykhyi also stated that the honoring of UPA heroes had no anti-Polish subtext. He noted that the history of the Polish and Ukrainian peoples contains both glorious and tragic pages.

The diplomat added that preparations for the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2026), scheduled for June 25–26 in Gdańsk, are proceeding as planned and in a regular working mode.

“We hope that the conference will be held successfully,” Tykhyi emphasized.

Historical memory disputes spill into modern cooperation

The Vinnytsia-Kielce bus dispute earlier this week is the latest concrete example of how historical memory tensions have affected practical Polish-Ukrainian cooperation, Euromaidan Press reported. Polish sister-city Kielce refused to transfer 20-year-old municipal buses to Vinnytsia, a Ukrainian city under regular Russian strikes, over a street named after Bandera.

Stepan Bandera, the Ukrainian nationalist leader, led the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the UPA.  

Russia actively uses its propaganda, referring to Ukrainians as “Banderites” and portraying Ukrainian statehood as a continuation of Nazism. 

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Bulgaria’s defense minister banned weapons to Ukraine. It’s not that simple

✇Euromaidan Press
By: Olena Mukhina

Decommissioning of the Bulgarian 2S1 Gvozdika howitzers, spring 2024. Photo via Defense Express

Ukraine does not currently receive free military aid from Bulgaria but maintains ongoing mutually beneficial commercial defense cooperation, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi says, Ukrinform reports. The clarification followed Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov's announcement that Bulgaria will not provide any more weapons to Ukraine, with Stoyanov stating his view that "the war in Ukraine will not be resolved on the battlefield," per Sofia Globe.

Bulgaria has historically been one of the most significant European suppliers of Soviet-caliber ammunition and weaponry to Ukraine, with much of that cooperation passing through commercial defense-industry channels rather than appearing in official aid trackers, per Novinite.

Bulgaria supplied approximately one-third of all ammunition used by the Ukrainian military in the first six months of 2022, routed via the US and UK at an estimated value of $2.7 billion.

What did Ukraine's MFA say? 

"Ukraine, as of right now, does not receive free military aid from Bulgaria. Ukrainian-Bulgarian defense cooperation is continuing on a commercial basis, and it is mutually beneficial for Ukraine and Bulgaria," Tykhyi said.

According to the spokesperson, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry expects this cooperation to continue because it benefits Bulgarian companies, enabling them to scale production and generate revenue.

"We are grateful to Bulgaria for the fact that such projects are possible. We value cooperation with their defense companies," Tykhyi added.

"Not resolved on the battlefield": Stoyanov's statement 

Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov announced on 9 June 2026 that Bulgaria will not supply any further weapons to Ukraine, stating his view that "the war in Ukraine will not be resolved on the battlefield."

The framing echoes Russian and Russian-aligned narratives. Moscow has long wanted to make a pact with Ukraine, but under Kyiv's complete capitulation. 

Stoyanov's statement, however, does not address commercial Bulgarian-Ukrainian defense cooperation, which is conducted between Bulgarian private and state defense enterprises and Ukrainian buyers rather than through state-to-state donations.

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