The key facts
- On Tuesday, the Lviv regional council declared 2027 the Year of the UPA, Roman Shukhevych and Oleg Olzhych.
- Donald Tusk called the decision 'foolish', harmful to Ukraine, and warned it could become a pretext for opponents of Ukraine's EU accession.
- The UPA is linked to the killing of tens of thousands of Polish civilians in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, which Poland recognizes as genocide; in Ukraine the UPA is honored as a participant in anti-Nazi and anti-Soviet resistance.
Decision of the Lviv regional council
On Tuesday, the Lviv regional council voted to declare 2027 the Year of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), the Year of Roman Shukhevych — who commanded the UPA from 1943 until his death in 1950 — and the Year of the Ukrainian nationalist and writer Oleg Olzhych. 'This is our history, our heroes, and we must properly honor their memory,' said Svyatoslav Sheremeta, head of the council's committee on culture and information policy, when announcing the decision.
Tusk's reaction
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk sharply criticized the decision on Wednesday. 'This is foolishness. It harms Ukraine,' he told journalists, according to Polish media. In his words, for Poland such actions are 'always very irritating' and are not understood in the country, especially since they 'above all contradict Ukraine's interests.' Tusk added that he had previously discussed such historical issues with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and warned that such gestures make it difficult to defend the position of countries and politicians advocating close cooperation with Kyiv. 'In such situations, the Russians always rub their hands,' he noted.
Warning about EU accession
Tusk also stated that the decision could give a trump card to opponents of Ukraine's accession to the European Union: 'If opponents of Ukraine's EU accession are looking for a pretext, then it is precisely such a pretext that the deputies of the Lviv regional council have now created.'
Historical context of the dispute
The commemoration touches on one of the most painful disputes between Poland and Ukraine. Ukrainian nationalist formations, including the UPA, killed tens of thousands of Polish civilians during World War II in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia; Poland recognizes these mass killings as genocide. At the same time, many Ukrainians honor the UPA for its participation in anti-Nazi and anti-Soviet resistance, and Shukhevych is considered by his supporters a symbol of that struggle. Competing historical memories have repeatedly complicated relations between Warsaw and Kyiv, despite Poland's support for Ukraine in the war with Russia.
