Poland has condemned the Lviv regional council's decision to declare 2027 a year honouring the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and its wartime commander Roman Shukhevych, whose forces led the World War Two massacre of around 100,000 Poles. Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the move "suicidal", saying it harms Ukraine by making it harder for the country's friends to support it, and Warsaw has moved to ban the official behind the commemorations from entering Poland.
Foreign minister Radosław Sikorski said he had signed a motion to place Sviatoslav Sheremeta, chair of the Lviv region's culture committee, on Poland's list of undesirable persons, banning him from entering the country. Polish media report that Sheremeta was previously banned from entry in 2017 for blocking the exhumation of Polish massacre victims in Ukraine.
The Lviv regional council adopted the resolutions on Tuesday, proclaiming 2027 the year of the UPA, of Shukhevych, and of poet Oleh Olzhych, a leading figure in the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), the movement from which the UPA emerged in 1942. Sheremeta, who led the commemorations effort, said the decisions would pave the way for "large-scale events". "This is our history, our heroes, and we must duly honour their memory," he told local news service Sokal Voice.
In Poland, the UPA is associated with the Volhynia massacres, in which its forces slaughtered around 100,000 Poles, mostly women and children. Some in Ukraine still remember the group positively for fighting Soviet rule imposed by Moscow. Foreign ministry spokesman Maciej Wewiór called Shukhevych "a criminal stained with the blood of thousands of innocent victims", and warned that "irresponsible local activists" were damaging relations at a time when the two governments had made progress towards reconciliation. Poland's Institute of National Remembrance described Shukhevych as "an architect of the genocide in Volhynia" and a co-founder of units collaborating with Germany, though it noted that Olzhych, also being honoured, was head of a group that condemned the crimes committed by the more radical faction of the OUN.
Defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said the decision did not build mutual trust between the nations but strengthened divisions, and urged Ukraine's authorities to distance themselves from it. Poland has previously warned that honouring the UPA could harm Ukraine's hopes of joining the EU, since Poland can veto accession.
The dispute follows recent reconciliation efforts, including Ukraine's lifting last year of a ban on exhuming Volhynia massacre victims and a first meeting this month between the Polish and Ukrainian memory institutes since 2018. Tensions had flared earlier this year when President Volodymyr Zelensky approved naming a Ukrainian military unit after the "heroes of the UPA", before calming after he set out a five-point plan that includes more exhumations.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The dispute cuts to the heart of Poland-Ukraine relations at a moment when Ukraine depends on Western solidarity and is pursuing EU membership.
- Poland holds a veto over Ukraine's EU accession, so Polish anger over historical memory can translate directly into political consequences.
- The episode shows how local decisions in Ukraine can ripple across borders and strain a wartime alliance.
Background
The UPA was a partisan formation that emerged in 1942 from a more radical faction of the OUN, with Shukhevych as its military commander. The OUN was a nationalist organisation that sought Ukrainian independence, and the UPA is still remembered positively by some Ukrainians for fighting Soviet rule, but in Poland it is indelibly associated with the Volhynia massacres, the slaughter of around 100,000 Poles, mostly women and children.
The Lviv vote is the latest in a recurring cycle. Earlier this year, President Volodymyr Zelensky triggered a diplomatic crisis by approving a military unit named after UPA "heroes". Tensions calmed after he set out a five-point plan including more exhumations of massacre victims, and this month the Polish and Ukrainian memory institutes held their first meeting since 2018.
Key Perspectives
Polish government: Warsaw condemns the commemorations outright. Tusk says the decision is "suicidal" and harms Ukraine by complicating the work of its friends and supporters, while the foreign ministry calls Shukhevych a criminal and warns that "irresponsible local activists" are damaging relations.
Lviv regional council: The council framed the resolutions as honouring Ukrainian history and heroes. Sheremeta said the UPA's leaders deserved proper commemoration, and the UPA retains positive standing among some Ukrainians for its fight against Moscow-imposed Soviet rule.
Advocates of reconciliation: Recent breakthroughs, including Ukraine's lifting of the exhumation ban and the first meeting in years between the two countries' memory institutes, showed momentum towards easing the historical dispute. That progress is now threatened by the Lviv vote, which Warsaw says undermines trust between the two nations.
What to Watch
- Whether Ukraine's central government distances itself from the Lviv resolutions, as Warsaw has demanded.
- The status of the exhumation programme and the newly reopened dialogue between the Polish and Ukrainian memory institutes.
- The tone of EU accession discussions, given Poland's ability to veto Ukraine's membership.