Diplomatic Tensions Rise Over Historical Controversy

Polish President Karol Nawrocki criticized the decision to name the unit after the UPA as ‘outrageous,’ ‘incomprehensible,’ and ‘deeply disappointing.’ In a video released on the president’s official website, Nawrocki stated that the UPA ‘remains, above all, a formation responsible for the firm crimes committed against citizens of the Republic of Poland during World War II.’

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha denounced the move as a ‘strategic mistake’ and ‘disrespectful.’ He also announced that he would return an award he received from Poland in 2022, stating that ‘no president of another country will dictate our history to us.’

Historical Context and Controversy

Many in Ukraine regard the UPA. Which existed in the 1940s and 1950s, as heroes who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Soviet Red Army, as well as Nazi Germany and Polish authorities. The title ‘Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army’ is a major honour for Ukrainians.

Poland, however, accuses the UPA of carrying out a genocide of ethnic Poles in Volhynia (now Volyn in Ukraine) in 1943-45. Nawrocki noted that ‘for the overwhelming majority of Polish society, the UPA remains a formation responsible for the firm crimes committed against citizens of the Republic of Poland during World War II.’

The Polish president highlighted the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees welcomed into the country following the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. ‘Poles opened their borders, their homes, and their hearts to millions of Ukrainians,’ he said.

EU Aspirations and Broader Implications

Nawrocki also emphasized that Ukraine’s path toward European structures requires a willingness to ‘honestly confront the difficult chapters of its own history.’ He noted that ‘a united Europe was built on the rejection of totalitarianism and the cult of violence. These principles must apply to everyone.’ He added that ‘for those who do not understand this, there can be no place in the European Union, and Poland will certainly not allow it.’

Ukraine has ambitions to become an EU member state and attended the first phase of membership negotiations this week in Luxembourg. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has attempted to dampen growing diplomatic tensions between Kyiv and Warsaw.

Taking to social media on Friday, Tusk, the former president of the European Council, said the feud ‘delights’ Russia’s Vladimir Putin and called on Zelensky and Nawrocki to ‘calm emotions, not to stoke tensions.’

The UPA is a symbol of resistance and struggle for independence in Ukraine, even though Warsaw says about 100,000 ethnic Poles were killed in the Volhynia massacres. The group’s red and black flag is often used by Ukrainian troops on the front line today. Zelensky said he would use the UPA’s name for a military unit ‘with the aim of restoring the historical traditions of the national army.’

Zelensky himself has not directly commented on the row. Sybiha called it ‘a strategic mistake by the President of Poland, from which only Moscow benefits.’