The Polish minority in Ukraine officially numbers about 144,130 (according to the 2001 census), of whom 21,094 (14.6%) speak Polish as their first language. The history of Polish settlement in current territory of Ukraine dates back to 1030–31. In Late Middle Ages, following the extinction of the Rurik dynasty in 1323, the Kingdom of Poland extended east in 1340 to include the lands of Przemyśl and in 1366, Kamianets-Podilskyi (Kamieniec Podolski). The settlement of Poles became common there after the Polish–Lithuanian peace treaty signed in 1366 between Casimir III the Great of Poland, and Liubartas of Lithuania.
History
Early medieval times
In early medieval times the western territory of what is now Ukraine (Eastern Galicia) was known as Red Ruthenia. It was settled by tribes of Western Slavs – Lendians. According to the Nestor – Primary Chronicle tribe of Lendians were 'Lachy' (Lechites) and their Duke Wlodzislav took part in dealing with Byzantine empire together with the Rus. It is first attested in AD 981, when Vladimir the Great of Kievan Rus conquered the Red Ruthenian strongholds in his military campaign on the border with the land of Lendians. Nestor reports in his chronicle that: "Vladimir marched upon the Lyakhs (k Lyakbotri) and took their cities: Peremyshl (modern Przemyśl), Cherven (modern Czermno), and other towns." In the following century, the area was taken by Boleslav the Brave of Poland in 1018, then retrieved by Kievan Rus' in 1031 and recaptured by Poland in 1069. From 1080 until 1349 this region was part of Kievan Rus or the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia. During this time Polish settlers helped to economically develop the region and they formed a significant element in the courts of the Galician rulers.
Following the extinction of the Rurikid dynasty and the end of the Galician-Volhynian kingdom, this region was seized by the Polish Crown, and included in the Polish–Lithuanian peace treaty signed in 1366 by Casimir III of Poland, with Liubartas of Lithuania. A Roman Catholic Archdiocese was established in the old Galician capital of Halych in 1375, and was transferred to Lviv in 1412. Native nobles (boyars) who refused to declare allegiance to the Polish kingdom were dispossessed of their lands, which were granted to arriving nobles from Poland. Large numbers of settlers came to Galician lands from Lesser Poland; Polish nobles were given land grants, Polish peasants settled in the countryside and Polish, German and Armenian merchants and craftsmen settled in the towns. Over time, many but not all of the remaining native nobility (particularly the wealthy ones with much land) as well as the townspeople assimilated into Polish culture, while the Polish peasant settlers assimilated into the native culture.
In Ukrainian lands further east, near the Kyiv region, the first Polish settlers were prisoners of war who were captured by Yaroslav the Wise during his war against Poland in 1030–1031 and settled on lands near Kyiv, where they became farmers and assimilated into the local population. More Polish settlers arrived in the 12th century, resulting in the establishment of a Roman Catholic mission in Kyiv.
During the Time of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
To mitigate the depopulation stemming from the Crimean–Nogai slave raids, Polish kings, in particular Stephen Báthory and Sigismund III Vasa, sponsored large-scale Polish colonization of central and eastern Ukrainian regions in the 16th and 17th centuries. Polish magnates were given large tracts of sparsely settled lands, while Polish petty gentry managed the estates and served as soldiers. Serfs were enticed to move into these territories by a temporary 20 year exemption from serfdom. Although most serfs were from western Ukrainian lands, a significant number of Polish serfs from central Poland also settled these estates. The latter tended to assimilate into Ukrainian society and some of them even took part in Cossack uprisings against the landlords. Polish magnates from Ukraine, such as members of the family Potocki and Zolkiewski, played a significant political and social role within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, as did Polonized native magnates such as the family Wisniowiecki. They were amongst the wealthiest nobles in Poland; the Wisniowiecki estate included 38,000 households with a population of 230,000 subjects.