Historical Memory in EU Countries is Based on the Ideology of Reconciliation, Says Deputy Speaker Olena Kondratiuk
30 June 2026, 16:55
In EU countries, the issue of historical memory is shaped by an ideology of reconciliation and respect for the history of each state. Ukraine is following this exact path.
This was stated by Deputy Speaker Olena Kondratiuk during a plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada, as she summarized the outcomes of the Ukraine-Poland Parliamentary Assembly meeting in Gdańsk.
“Our Assembly, which I have the honor of co-chairing on behalf of the Ukrainian side, took place at the very epicenter of the crisis in Ukrainian-Polish relations. That is precisely why its main achievement was that we preserved our dialogue!” Olena Kondratiuk emphasized.
According to her, historical memory demands dignity from both sides.
“However, when questions of historical memory begin to dictate the future of Ukrainian-Polish relations, become a tool for political maneuvering—especially in Poland as it prepares for the 2027 elections—and fuel hate speech, we risk losing what we have spent decades building together,” the Deputy Speaker noted.
She also recalled that in EU countries the issue of historical memory is shaped by an ideology of reconciliation and respect for the history of each state.
"Ukraine is following this exact path. That is why it is important to return to the formula that helped our nations overcome the most difficult chapters of our shared history: "we forgive and beg for forgiveness,"" underscored Olena Kondratiuk.
The Deputy Speaker also pointed out that following the Assembly session, cardinals of Polish and Ukrainian descent gathered for a consistory in Rome and publicly called upon both nations to reconcile. “I am grateful to His Beatitude Sviatoslav for his leadership. I am convinced that his Polish counterparts in the clergy will join this process,” Kondratiuk added.
The Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada expressed her gratitude to the Ukrainian and Polish members of the Assembly, as well as to the parliamentary leadership, for their support and shared understanding of the vital importance of preserving the Ukrainian-Polish strategic partnership.
“Our task is not to search for new pretexts for confrontation, but to preserve mutual respect, trust, and partnership as equal allies. We have one common enemy—russia, which seeks to drive a wedge between our peoples. But we will not allow it to succeed,” concluded Deputy Speaker Olena Kondratiuk.