Half of Poles oppose Ukraine's accession to EU and NATO until exhumations issue is resolved – survey
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Half of Poles believe that Ukraine should not be able to join NATO or the European Union without resolving the problematic issue of exhumations of victims of the Volyn tragedy. [The Volyn (Volhynia) tragedy was a series of events that led to the ethnic cleansing of the Polish and Ukrainian populations in 1943 during World War II. It was part of a long-standing rivalry between Ukrainians and Poles in what is now Ukraine's west. Poland considers the Volyn tragedy a genocide of Poles – ed.]
Source: results of an IBRiS survey for Rzeczpospolita, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Poles were asked whether Ukraine should become a member of NATO and the EU without resolving the issue of exhumations of victims of the Volyn tragedy.
A total of 27.7% of respondents "strongly disagree" with Ukraine's accession to the EU and NATO without resolving this issue, and 22.5% "rather disagree" with this.
Rzeczpospolita adds that "the group that puts forward this condition is dominated by opposition supporters. These are mainly viewers of the Respublika TV channel".
Another 20.4% of respondents "rather agree" with Ukraine's accession to NATO and the EU, even if it doesn’t resolve the issue of exhumations. 14.4% of respondents "strongly agree".
Among all respondents, 15% were undecided.
The survey was conducted on 24 and 25 January 2025 using the CATI method on a sample of 1,071 people.
Background:
- Polish presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki, supported by the largest opposition party Law and Justice, previously stated that he did not see Ukraine in either the EU or NATO.
- "A country that cannot answer for a very brutal crime against 120,000 of its neighbours cannot be part of international alliances," Nawrocki said.
- Instead, the mayor of Warsaw and the government's presidential candidate, Rafał Trzaskowski, supported Ukraine's membership in the EU and NATO.
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