On August 25, Acting Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, Tetyana Berezhna, held a meeting with Paweł Kowal, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland and Chairman of the Council for Cooperation with Ukraine.
During the meeting, the parties discussed key areas of Ukrainian-Polish cooperation in the humanitarian sphere — in particular, cultural partnership, preservation of historical heritage, and the implementation of agreements reached at URC2025.
Paweł Kowal praised the progress made in the joint Ukrainian-Polish search and exhumation efforts in Ternopil and Lviv regions. He also emphasized the importance of the participation of the Ministers of Culture of Ukraine and Poland in the joint reburial ceremony of remains discovered during the search operations in the area of the former village of Puzhnyky in Ternopil region.
Tetyana Berezhna expressed her gratitude to the Polish side for its comprehensive support of Ukraine amid the full-scale invasion — particularly in the humanitarian, political, and economic spheres. She also confirmed her intention to attend the reburial ceremony, underscoring its humanitarian significance:
“This is a profound gesture of mutual respect that shows: even when we hold different views on certain historical events, we are capable of uniting around the remembrance of the past. It is not just a symbol, but a tangible manifestation of dialogue — one that must be continued.”
Tetyana Berezhna also informed the Polish delegation about several initiatives launched during URC2025 in Rome, including the creation of the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund and the formation of a Cultural Resilience Alliance. She invited Polish partners to join these initiatives.
In the context of preparations for the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026 (URC-2026), Tetyana Berezhna emphasized the importance of incorporating cultural and humanitarian dimensions into the key themes of the upcoming conference.
For his part, Paweł Kowal reaffirmed Poland’s commitment to deepening cooperation in the field of culture and heritage preservation, and expressed particular interest in the development of joint museum projects.
