A long-announced new monument was set to be unveiled in the Polish capital on Tuesday as the country marked eight years since an air crash that killed its president.

The site of the crash of the Polish presidential Tu-154 plane near Smolensk, western Russia, where President Lech Kaczyński, his wife Maria and 94 others were killed on April 10, 2010. Photo: PAP/Wojciech Pacewicz

The monument, in a central square in Warsaw, aimed to collectively honour the victims of the fatal 2010 Polish presidential plane crash in Russia, a disaster that scarred the national psyche and continues to elicit bitter emotions eight years later.

Tuesday’s ceremonies at the Polish capital’s Piłsudski Square were also expected to see the unveiling of a foundation stone at a site where a separate monument commemorating thelate President Lech Kaczyński would be erected at a later time.

Tuesday marked exactly eight years since a Polish plane carrying President Kaczyński, his wife and 94 others – including top political and military figures – crashed near Smolensk, western Russia, killing all those on board.

Jarosław Kaczyński, the twin brother of the late president and the leader of the country’s ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and senior ministers took part in a ceremony in front of the presidential palace in Warsaw during which the names of the crash victims were read out.

On Monday, officials unveiled a plaque in Poland’s parliament to commemorate the late President Lech Kaczyński.

Reinvestigation in progress

The ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, of which Jarosław Kaczyński is head, has