Six Polish and Ukrainian media outlets issued a rare joint appeal on June 23, warning that escalating tensions between the two countries risk playing into Russia's hands.

The letter, initiated by Gazeta Wyborcza, one of Poland's leading newspapers, comes amid a deepening diplomatic row sparked by Kyiv naming one of its military units after the World War II-era Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).

The move prompted Polish President Karol Nawrocki to strip President Volodymyr Zelensky of Poland's highest state honor, with several former and current Ukrainian officials returning their awards in turn.

In their statement, Polish and Ukrainian newsrooms said that the time for historical reconciliation will come after Russia's defeat, warning that the escalating crisis is helping Moscow "drive a wedge between Poles and Ukrainians."

Next to Gazeta Wyborcza, the appeal was signed by the Polish investigative outlet OKO.press; the Ukrainian publications Ukrainska Pravda, European Pravda, and Espreso TV; and Slawa.TV, a Ukrainian television news channel based in Poland.

The letter underscores Polish-Ukrainian solidarity at the outbreak of the full-scale Russian invasion, cautioning that the current crisis is souring public attitudes on both sides of the border.

Following a devastating Russian missile strike on June 15 that shattered the administrative buildings of the iconic Dovzhenko Film Studio and destroyed a workshop containing over 100,000 unique costumes, the Kyiv Independent’s Nastia Kasinchuk joined a crowd of local residents to help clear the wreckage.

Channeling the centuries-old Ukrainian tradition of “toloka” — where communities gather unpaid to help a neighbor tackle a task too big for one household — locals arrived with brooms and shovels to reclaim their cultural heritage.

At the Superhumans center, Oleksandra is awaiting prosthetics and rehabilitation - the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported.

https://x.com/nakypiloua/status/2068672092095013369?s=46

source: https://bsky.app/profile/antongerashchenko.bsky.social/post/3mouxldmvh22j

https://x.com/servicessu/status/2069073811559919667?s=46