Zelensky's UPA decision caused rift with Poland, says EP
The European Parliament (EP) expressed regret on Wednesday over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's decision to call a military unit after the wartime nationalist organisation UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army), which caused tensions in bilateral relations with Poland.
In a resolution on the progress of Ukraine's accession to the European Union (EU), the EP called naming an elite Ukrainian military unit after the heroes of the UPA an act of unnecessary and unprovoked escalation on Zelensky's part.
The EP expressed regret over the fact that considering Poland's unwavering support for Ukraine fighting Russian aggression, the sensitivity of the historical issue was neglected as well as the pain caused by the decision to a society whose tens of thousands of civilians were killed by the UPA during World War Two.
The resolution stated that Zelensky's decision was detrimental to Ukraine's good neighbourly relations with Poland and earlier efforts to resolve outstanding issues in the two countries' shared history. The EP also noted that as such, it stood in opposition to European values.
The relevant amendment to the EP's resolution on Ukraine was submitted by the European Peoples' Party (EPP), which includes MEPs for Poland's centrist Civic Coalition (KO) and the agrarian Polish People's Party (PSL). It was passed on 592 votes, with 42 against and 11 abstaining.
In late May, Zelensky's decided to name a military unit after the "Heroes of the UPA", a formation which was responsible for the mass killings of tens of thousands of Poles in what today is western Ukraine during the war. The decision triggered strong criticism and even outrage among Polish politicians. A few weeks later, Nawrocki stripped Zelensky of Poland's highest honour, the Order of the White Eagle, which in turn spurred a number of Ukrainian politicians to renounce their Polish distinctions. Since then, relations between Warsaw and Kyiv have chilled significantly.(PAP)
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