- At the end of May, Vladimir Zelensky signed a decree on assigning the honorary name “Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA)” to the Separate Special Operations Center “North” of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
- There was an immediate and sharp reaction to this in Poland. The Ukrainian ambassador was summoned to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and right-wing parties demanded a reduction in military aid to Kiev and the obstruction of Ukraine’s accession process to the European Union.
During World War II, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) waged an armed struggle to create an independent Ukrainian state on lands inhabited by ethnic Ukrainians. Opponents of the UPA were the occupation authorities of Nazi Germany, Soviet partisans (after the occupation of Ukraine – the authorities of the USSR) and the armed Polish underground.
In addition to acts of sabotage and participation in hostilities, UPA fighters carried out ethnic cleansing among the civilian population. The most famous of these events is the Volyn massacre – in 1943, over the course of several months, more than 50,000 civilians, the vast majority ethnic Poles, were killed in the Volyn Territory (a historical region at the intersection of modern Ukraine, Poland and Belarus). In total, according to Polish historians, as a result of ethnic cleansing conducted by the UPA, up to 100 thousand Poles died in 1943-1945.
In modern Poland, the Volyn Massacre is officially considered a genocide of the Polish population. In modern Ukraine, against the backdrop of the war with Russia, the United Progressive Alliance is seen primarily as a symbol of the struggle for independence.
- June 19 Polish President Karol Nawrocki AnnounceWhich cancels the highest state award – the Order of the White Eagle – from Vladimir Zelensky (received in 2023). Nawrocki explained his decision by saying: “For the vast majority of Polish society, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army remains primarily the formation responsible for the brutal crimes committed against Polish citizens during World War II.”
- In response, many Ukrainian politicians immediately returned their previously received awards to Poland. Thus, the head of the office Kirill Budanov, his deputy Igor Zovkva, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sepiga and the Ambassador in Warsaw Vasily Bodnar refused the Order of Merit of Poland Commander and Knight.
- Budanov His name Navrotsky’s decision was “an unfriendly act towards the Ukrainian people.” Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk He saidHe considered this “a catastrophic mistake that will have far-reaching negative consequences for the Ukrainian-Polish partnership.”
- Head of the Polish Foreign Ministry Radoslaw Sikorski maleThat “only Moscow can become the winner in the war of history and orders.” And of course, they’ve already started coming from there sarcastic comments.
- Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk suggested not to escalate tensions. “The conflict between Poland and Ukraine pleases Putin and shocks our allies. The task of Presidents Zelensky and Nawrocki is to calm feelings, not escalate tensions. The front line is elsewhere.” books It is on the social network
- But Vladimir Zelensky maleHe had already sent his order to Carol Nawrocki. “If it is believed that this special symbol can remain with Catherine II, Benito Mussolini and Gerhard Schröder, then we in Ukraine will not argue with this,” he wrote on social networks, adding that Kiev remains grateful to the people of Poland for their support and cooperation.
- After Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle to reject Former Ukrainian presidents Leonid Kuchma (received this award in Warsaw in 1997) and Viktor Yushchenko.
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