Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed bill No. 2038 on recognising Ukrainians who were forcibly resettled from Poland in 1944-1951 as deportees. This bill was registered in 2019.

Source: Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament)

Details: Affected citizens will receive a one-time aid payment, the amount of which will be determined by the Cabinet of Ministers (Ukrainian government).

If a forcibly deported person has died, their heirs are entitled to the payment: their wife or husband and in their absence, their children.

"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just signed an important law restoring the memory of Ukrainians who were forcibly deported from Poland between 1944 and 1951. This is a correct and dignified step that restores historical justice regarding this horrific crime.

[…] Sadly, many witnesses of those tragic events have already passed away. However, in order to protect the rights of those who are still with us and their descendants, our state guarantees the provision of aid as provided for by law," emphasised Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.

The explanatory note states that the deportation occurred due to agreements between the authorities of the former Soviet Union and the Polish People’s Republic in September 1944 and February 1951.

During this period, approximately 632,000 indigenous Ukrainians were deported from Poland. Approximately 482,000 of which were removed from Zakerzonia [territories of Poland to the west of the Curzon Line, which used to have sizeable Ukrainian populations]. The remaining 150,000 were deported from the Lemko region, Nadsiannia region, Chełm Land, Podlachia, Liubachivshchyna, and Western Boikivshchyna in northwestern Poland during Operation Vistula in 1947.

Background: The Verkhovna Rada adopted a bill introducing separate liability for deportation and unjustified delay in the bringing back of children, in particular by representatives of Russia and Belarus.

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