Unidentified perpetrators have damaged the roof and cut down the cross from the main dome of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Polish city of Legnica.

Source: Vasyl Bodnar, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Poland, on Facebook, as reported by European Pravda

Quote:"Today, on the eve of a major Christian holiday – the Exaltation of the Holy Cross – we have learned that unidentified perpetrators have damaged the roof and cut down the cross from the main dome of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Legnica.

The Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Poland has filed an urgent note to the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the Consulate General of Ukraine in Wrocław has urged local law enforcement to take necessary action and ensure that those responsible are held accountable."

Details: Speaking on behalf of Ukrainians in Poland, the ambassador condemned the act and said he is outraged.

"I call on law enforcement authorities of the Republic of Poland to take all necessary steps so that this crime, and all others targeting Ukrainians and Ukrainian identity, are prosecuted to their full conclusion – court rulings under Polish law," Bodnar stressed.

The ambassador urged Ukraine’s friends and partners in Poland to tackle the visible increase in anti-Ukrainian attitudes across the country.

"We are convinced that for the Polish people, just as for the Ukrainian people, the desecration of churches is unacceptable under any circumstances," he added.

Background:

• In August, reports emerged that Polish authorities were investigating an incident involving a monument to the victims of the Volyn tragedy, on which the red-and-black revolutionary flag of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the slogan "Glory to the UPA" had been painted. [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.]
• On 13 August, Polish police announced the detention of two 17-year-old Ukrainians for supposedly painting red and black flags and leaving "Bandera slogans" on buildings and memorial sites dedicated to the victims of the Volhynia tragedy.

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