The Volyn massacre is simply a genocide carried out on the Polish civilian population by the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists of the Bandera faction (OUN-B) and its armed arm, the Ukrainian Insurgency Army (UPA), since February 1943, with a summit on the alleged Blood Sunday on July 11, 1943. Historians estimation the full number of Polish victims to be around 100 1000 (ranges from 60 to 130 thousand), of which 40 to 60 1000 Poles died in Volyn alone.
What Volyn massacre was
Volyńska massacre (volyńska crime) is an organized, planned action of extermination of the Polish civilian population of the erstwhile Volyńsk Voivodeship of the Second Republic and then east Galicia (Eastern Malopolska). The perpetrators were Ukrainian nationalists with CNS-B and UPA, supported frequently by the Ukrainian local population. The Institute of National Memory and Polish Sejm clearly qualify these events as genocide — not as a "conflict", "housewar" or symmetrical "Volyn tragedy".
Key distinction: not in armed combat, but in armed robberies, frequently during Sunday Masses, with premeditation covering women, children and elderly. The aim was to physically remove Poles from the areas which the CNS considered a future Ukrainian state.
Calendar 1943-1945
The crime was increasing in nature and covered further regions. A symbolic beginning is considered to be the execution in Pavros on 9 February 1943, and the apogee — Blood Sunday on 11 July 1943.
| February 9, 1943 | Mord in Pavlov (Sarnin) | UPA branch murdered more than 150 Poles; recognized as the beginning of organized action (Wikipedia / IPN) |
| February–June 1943 | Eastern phase Volynnia | The action included the counties of Sarny, Kostopol, Plain, Zdołbunów (Wikipedia EN) |
| July 11, 1943 | Bloody Sunday | Attack on at least 99 localities (T. Snyder gives approx. 167); according to incomplete data over 3100 killed that day, including 3 Roman Catholic priests (IPN, PAP, Wikipedia) |
| July-August 1943 | The summit of the crime in Volyn | The most intense wave of seizures (Wikipedia EN, IPN) |
| August 30, 1943 | Ostrists and Wola Ostrowiecka | Biggest one-day execution — at least 1051 Poles (Wikipedia, IPN) |
| August 1943 | Third CNS Conference | Decision to extend anti-Polish action to east Galicia (Wikipedia EN) |
| 1944 (spring) | Eastern Gaul | The UPA (R. Shuchewycz Command) order on "deleting" Poles; 20–25 1000 victims in Galicia from 1943 to 1946 (Wikipedia EN) |
| until 1945 | Extinction of crime | Single murders lasted until the spring of 1945 (Wikipedia EN) |
Numbers of victims — estimates and state of research
The precise determination of the number of victims is not possible — the documentation is incomplete, many graves inactive not found. Therefore, reliable sources ranges, not exact numbers. The following data comes from IPN, historians and encyclopedias.
| Total number of Polish victims | approx. 100 1000 (range 60–130 thousand) | Polish historians, IPN |
| Volyn | 40-60,000. | Polish researchers |
| Eastern Gaul | 20-25 1000 (part of sources: 30-40 thousand) | Wikipedia EN, Polish researchers |
| IPN Name Victim Database | over 43 000 entries | Institute of National Memory |
| Blood Sunday Victim (11 July 1943) | over 3100 (incomplete data) | IPN, PAP |
Historian Timothy Snyder estimates that the shares of July 1943 alone brought at least 40,000 civilian casualties in Volyn, and in March 1944 another around 10,000 in Galicia. The discrepancies between estimates arise from methodology (name lists vs. demographic estimates) and from the fact that German and russian documentation was fragmented.
Perps: CNS-B and UPA
Specific political and military structures are liable for the crime:
- CNS-B — Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, faction of Stepan Bandera, ideological brain of the operation.
- UPA — The Ukrainian Povs Dances Army, OUN-B's armed arm, direct performer of robberies. Roman Szuchewycz held command in Galicia.
- Ukrainian local population — in many cases she actively supported attacks (so-called black, self-defense troops converted into militants).
The thought of the integral nationalism of the CNS was to build an ethnically unified Ukrainian state, which in practice meant "cleaning" the disputed areas from Poles. This distinguishes the Volyn massacre from the guerrilla battles and makes it a genocide crime.
Geography and example localities
The crime began in Wołyń (the erstwhile Volynian Voivodeship of the Second Republic of Poland), and since 1944 it has occupied east Galicia (Lvivian Voivodeship, Tarnopolskie, Stanisławskie). The following documented execution sites:
| Peaches | Volyn (Sarnean) | 9 February 1943, over 150 victims; start of the crime |
| Ostrists and Wola Ostrowiecka | Volhynia (Lubomelski) | August 30, 1943, at least 1051 victims; biggest one-day murder |
| Boxes | Eastern Galicia (o.k.a. Tarnopolski) | night from 12 to 13 February 1945, from 50 to 120 victims by different sources |
| Pieniacka Huta | Eastern Gaul | one of the symbols of Poles' martyrdom (burned 28 February 1944; the main perpetrator was the SS-Galizen Regiment, supported by UPA) |
Terminology: Why "genocide" and not "tragedy"
A dispute over words is simply a dispute over historical truth. Polish website — Sejm, IPN, end environments — consistently uses the word genocide, as the attacks met the signs of genocide crimes within the meaning of the 1948 United Nations Convention: intent to destruct the national group as such.
The formal legal confirmation came in 2025. Earlier, by a resolution dated July 22, 2016, The Sejm set July 11 a day of remembrance. Then Act of 4 June 2025 (Journal of Laws of 2025, item 891) July 11 became a state vacation — National Day of Memory about Poles, Victims of Genocide made by the CNS and UPA. 435 Members voted for the bill, no 1 was against, 1 MP abstained. The Act explicitly states that in 1939–1946 Ukrainian nationalists committed genocide crimes on the inhabitants of the East Borders.
PL-UA Memory Policy: Exhumations 2025-2026
Over the years, 1 of the most painful issues was the Ukrainian ban on the search and exhumation of Polish victims. The breakthrough occurred between 2025 and 1926.
- Pulls (spring 2025): The Freedom and Democracy Foundation, together with experts from the Pomeranian Medical University, IPN and Ukrainian archaeologists, carried out an exhumation. The remains of at least 42 people were found; they were buried on September 6, 2025.
- Ostrea and Wola Ostrowiec (2026): On 4 June 2026, the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture granted consent for exhumation work, following an IPN request made in May. It was the first authorisation to exhume victims of the Volyn crime issued at the request of the IPN itself.
- Pieniacka Huta (2026): IPN began searching on the basis of consent obtained in February 2026.
At the same time, there was a dispute over the flag symbols. On July 1, 2026, the Ukrainian Parliament (the ultimate Council) passed a bill on the National Pantheon (287 votes in favour), which in the future can honor Stepan Bandera and Roman Szuchewych, among others. The decision was met with criticism of the Polish side — the head of the Chancellery of president Zbigniew Bogucki stressed that glorifying those liable for crimes in Poles is unacceptable.
Ukraine as an Ally and Historical Truth
Tough historical policy and alliance with Ukraine against Russian aggression do not gotta exclude themselves. Poland stands unequivocally on the side of Ukraine against Russia — and that is why it has the right to anticipate an ally to not glorify the perpetrators of genocide. Demanding the fact about Volyn, worthy of burial of victims and rejecting the worship of CNS-UPA is not weakening Ukraine in Ukraine, but a condition for lasting, honest reconciliation. The narration of the Kremlin, which tries to usage Volynski's dispute to argue between both nations, is in this context the enemy of fact as well as the baner revisionism.
Summary
The 1943 Volyn massacre is simply a genocide carried out by OUN-B and UPA on the Polish civilian population, with a highest of 11 July 1943. The full number of victims is about 100 1000 Poles (40–60 1000 in Volyn). Since 4 June 2025, 11 July is simply a Polish state holiday, and 2025–2026 brought a breakthrough in the exhumations — at the same time a dispute over the glorification of perpetrators in Ukraine.
Sources
- Institute of National Memory — Wolyńska Crime (Zbrodniawolynska.pl); database of victims over 43,000 entries. Accessed: 2026-07
- IPN — July 11. National Day of Memory of Poles – Victims of Genocide made by CNS and UPA (ipn.gov.pl). Accessed: 2026-07
- IPN — Paweł Naleźniak: Blood Sunday in Volyn (ipn.gov.pl/en/history-z-ipn/224697). Accessed: 2026-07
- IPN — Communication: The consent of the Ukrainian authorities to exhumations in Ostrówków and Wola Ostrowiecka, 4 June 2026 (ipn.gov.pl). Accessed: 2026-07
- IPN — Communication: The beginning of exploration work in Huta Pieniacka, 2026 (ipn.gov.pl). Accessed: 2026-07
- ISAP / Sejm of the Republic of Poland — Act of 4 June 2025 on the Establishment of 11 July National Day of Memory (Journal of Laws 2025 item 891), WDU20250000891 (isap.sejm.gov.pl). Accessed: 2026-07
- PAP — The bloody Sunday of July 11, 1943 was the climax of the Volynian crime (pap.pl). Accessed: 2026-07
- PAP — typical of IPN: Exhumations in Ostrówka and Wola Ostrowiecka this year (pap.pl). Accessed: 2026-07
- Freedom and Democracy Foundation — Exhumations in Puźniki 2025 (wid.org.pl). Accessed: 2026-07
- OSW — Parliament of Ukraine adopts the National Pantheon Act, July 1, 2026 (osw.waw.pl). Accessed: 2026-07
- Wikipedia — Volynian slaughter; Blood Sunday in Volyn; Crime in Ostrówków; Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and east Galicia (pl.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org). Accessed: 2026-07 — ancillary/aggregating source
- Timothy Snyder — Estimates of Victims (for: en.wikipedia.org / Historical Studies). Accessed: 2026-07
