A Town That Forgot Its Wartime Massacres Now Lives With War Against Russia

Novovolynsk, a city in western Ukraine near the Polish border, is living under the shadow of Russia's ongoing war while grappling with a complex history of ethnic violence largely forgotten by its residents. The city, which sits in a region where Polish and Ukrainian civilians were massacred during World War II, has seen its past overshadowed by the present conflict with Russia. Novovolynsk has a partnership with Stropkov, a small town in northeastern Slovakia, which has been providing assistance to its Ukrainian twin city during the war. Such cross-border municipal partnerships between Slovak and Ukrainian towns have become an important channel for civilian aid since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. The reportage highlights how communities once scarred by inter-ethnic atrocities are now united by a common threat, with Slovak partner cities playing a quiet but meaningful role in sustaining Ukrainian civilian life during wartime.