Zelensky: Defeat of Russian army in 1920 is an example of Ukraine and Poland uniting
Ukraine and Poland should emphasize those aspects of their history which unite them, and not those which divide them, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a press conference after meeting with his Polish colleague Andrzej Duda in Warsaw.
“In our relations, we are focusing on that which unites us (and I am convinced that this will continue). For example, the Battle of Warsaw, the hundredth anniversary of which we will commemorate in August,” he said.
During this battle in 1920, Polish troops with support from the Ukrainian People’s Republic led by Symon Petlyura won a decisive victory against Soviet Russia’s Red Army, turning the tide in the Russian-Polish war. As a result, Western Ukraine was part of Poland for nearly 20 years, and the spread of communism to Europe was halted.
In 2016, after the Polish Sejm passed a resolution on the genocide of Poles by Ukrainians during World War II, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Polish President Andrzej Duda announced their intention to shift the historic emphases. At the time, a decision was made to look for heroes shared by Ukraine and Poland.