Grave of Ukrainian writer vandalised in Poland
The grave of Bohdan Lepkyi, a Ukrainian writer, scholar and professor, at Rakowicki Cemetery in Kraków has been vandalised.
Source: Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesman for Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Tykhyi said unknown individuals have stolen the writer's bronze relief from his gravestone.
"We regard this act of vandalism as a deliberate provocation aimed at further fuelling hostility between Ukraine and the Republic of Poland," the spokesman said.
Ukraine's Consulate General in Kraków has contacted the police, the administration of Rakowicki Cemetery and the Kraków city authorities.
The consulate has called on them to conduct a thorough investigation, establish all the circumstances of the crime, identify those responsible, take urgent measures to recover or restore the stolen bronze relief and ensure proper protection of the burial site.
Quote from Tykhyi: "We expect all the circumstances of this act of vandalism to be established promptly, those responsible to be held accountable in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Poland and effective measures to be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future."
Details: Reports of the incident first appeared on social media, where photos showed the damaged monument.
Background:
- On the evening of 19 June, Polish President Karol Nawrocki took the decision to strip his Ukrainian counterpart Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle in connection with the naming of a Ukrainian military unit after the Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. He said Poland would not allow EU accession for those who do not understand the need to renounce the "cult of totalitarianism and violence".
- During a meeting with his Polish counterpart Radosław Sikorski in Warsaw on 3 July, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha proposed "a package of anti-crisis steps", aimed at easing tensions between the two countries.
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