Polish defence min urges Kyiv to reverse controversial unit name decision
Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Wednesday that he had conveyed to his Ukrainian counterpart Poland’s expectation to reverse the decision to name a Ukrainian military unit after the nationalist WWII organisation UPA.
Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky granted one of Ukraine's Armed Forces units the honorary name "Heroes of the UPA," sparking controversy in Poland due to the UPA's role in the mass-murdering of tens of thousands of Polish civilians in the Volhynia region during World War Two.
Kosiniak-Kamysz said he had discussed the matter with Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and rejected explanations from Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who said that the choice had been made by Ukrainian soldiers without intent to offend Poles.
"Poland is fulfilling its obligations... for the sake of friendly relations. An unfriendly act, which causes pain in the hearts of Poles, is the glorification of the UPA, especially by giving its name to military units while we are helping the Ukrainian army," the defence minister said.
He added that Poland expected "a clear declaration from the Ukrainian side" and said relations between the two countries should be based on "a reliably settled past and respect for each other's sensitivities."
"It is unimaginable in Polish hearts and the Polish soul to glorify someone who for us is synonymous with genocide," Kosiniak-Kamysz said, adding that he would do everything possible to have the decision changed.
The issue prompted Polish President Karol Nawrocki to propose discussing the possible withdrawal of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest distinction, awarded to Zelensky in 2023 by then-president Andrzej Duda.
According to historians, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army carried out coordinated attacks on Polish-inhabited localities in Volhynia in 1943, in massacres known in Poland as the Volhynia massacre. Poland considers the events genocide, while many Ukrainians regard them as part of a broader wartime conflict and view the UPA primarily as an anti-Soviet resistance movement. (PAP)
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