Historian and head of the Institute of National Remembrance, Oleksandr Alfiorov, expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.“Well, this story basically began as a Russian narrative back in 2013, when it was reinforced by the anniversary of the Volyn tragedy. And in this story, of course, there is, well, not just Russia’s involvement, it’s specifically a Russian case, because the enemy of my friend is my enemy, and the friend of my enemy is also my enemy. Clearly, Russia is driving a wedge between Poland and Ukraine, because this geopolitical territory is important for Russia, like Symon Petliura once pushed the idea of a Baltic–Black Sea alliance. Russia, like the former USSR, needs to control this space from sea to sea. Belarus is there, Kaliningrad is there too. Ukraine is needed for this as well. This is to push it into the self-isolation it’s used to. Russia does not want an independent Ukraine, so that the peoples under it do not rise up,” he said.Therefore, according to Oleksandr Alfiorov, Russia fears a Ukraine–Poland alliance.“And it’s clear there is a huge fear of a Poland–Ukraine alliance. Who will control whom? Who will set this frontier? Europeans or Eurasian powers? That’s why I am deeply convinced that in many key moments, Russian money influenced this story, both in Poland and in Ukraine. Just think about the fact that our parliament during Yanukovych’s time passed resolutions on genocide. We are adults; we know that everything needs to be thoroughly researched. As scholars, we understand that first come the sources, and conclusions are drawn from them. But Russian money ensured that we got the conclusions without anyone fully studying the sources. I am very glad that exhumations are now taking place in Ukraine, and in September exhumations will begin in Poland as well,” the historian added.