Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania have agreed to establish a Historians’ Forum within the Lublin Triangle framework to deprive Moscow of any opportunity to manipulate shared history and sow discord among partners.
The forum is a direct response to Russia’s attempts to exploit historical events to fuel tensions between the countries amid its war against Ukraine. It concerns particularly the 1943–44 Volyn tragedy, when nearly 80,000 Poles and 10,000 Ukrainians were killed. Poland classifies it as genocide committed by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. Kyiv sees the complex motives behind its actions.
“We must seek understanding, resolve sensitive issues, and thus deny Moscow any opportunity to undermine our unity,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in Lublin.
On 16 July, he visited the Lublin Triangle’s conference with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys and Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski. The main objective of these annual meetings, established in 2020, is to strengthen mutual military and cultural ties between the three countries and to support Ukraine’s integration into the EU and NATO.
The Ukrainian foreign minister added that the parties agreed such meetings of foreign ministers will be held regularly, at least twice a year.
Russia systematically manipulates and distorts historical facts to justify its aggression against Ukraine and to construct a narrative of the war’s “legality” and “necessity.” For instance, on 14 July, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that Russian President Vladimir Putin sent not negotiators, but a “historian” to the last peace talks in Istanbul.
The head of the Alliance was referring to Vladimir Medinsky, who began recounting Russian history starting in 1250 and tried to force Ukraine into capitulation. He also said that Moscow is ready to fight forever, mentioning the 21-year war against Sweden.
In 2024, during a high-profile interview with American propagandist Tucker Carlson, Putin began the conversation with a long historical monologue in which he attempted to justify his aggression against Ukraine.