According to Spiegel, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has issued a decree bestowing the honorary name “Heroes of the UPA” on the Northern Operations Center of the Special Operations Forces. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) was responsible for massacres of Poles during World War II and at times collaborated with Nazi Germany. The official justification in Kyiv is that the move aims to restore the historical traditions of the national army.
Outrage in Warsaw
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk reacted immediately to the decision. On the platform X, he wrote that Zelensky’s step wounds Poland’s historical sensitivity. Tusk also warned of the consequences of the dispute: “If we argue about the past, someone else wins the future. The president of Ukraine should finally understand that. The Poles too. Before it’s too late!” Karol Nawrocki spoke even more sharply, suggesting that Zelensky should be stripped of the Order of the White Eagle – Poland’s highest decoration.
Historical background of the UPA
The UPA was formed in 1942 as the military wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). Its goal was an independent Ukrainian state. In the Volhynia region, which belonged to Poland until 1939 and was annexed by the Ukrainian Soviet Republic after the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, UPA members killed an estimated up to 100,000 ethnic Poles between 1943 and 1944. The peak of the violence occurred in July 1943; many victims died in burning churches. Polish retaliatory actions are estimated to have killed up to 20,000 Ukrainians.
In today’s Ukraine, especially in the west of the country, OUN and UPA fighters are revered as freedom heroes by parts of the population. The differing assessment of this historical figure has strained Polish-Ukrainian relations for years. As early as 2024, disagreement over the Volhynia massacre led to diplomatic tensions between Kyiv and Warsaw.
Test of solidarity in the fifth year of war
The current dispute comes at a particularly sensitive time: since February 2022, Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia’s war of aggression, and Poland is one of its most important supporters. The Polish government supplies weapons, takes in refugees, and advocates for Ukraine at the EU level. The history dispute now threatens to undermine this solidarity. Tusk himself warned that the argument over the past must not allow a third party – meaning Russia – to benefit.
It remains unclear whether and how the governments in Kyiv and Warsaw can defuse the conflict. So far, there are no signs that Zelensky intends to reverse the decision. The Polish leadership, in turn, expects a clear gesture acknowledging Polish suffering. The tone between the two sides remains tense.
Source: www.spiegel.de
