The key facts

  • Ukraine's Foreign Ministry: the Lviv Regional Council's decision was made without consultations with diplomats and the central authorities
  • The ministry called the decision counterproductive for relations with Poland
  • Poland: Kosiniak-Kamysz called the decision 'unacceptable,' Sikorski added deputy Sheremet to the list of undesirable persons

Reaction of Ukraine's Foreign Ministry

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported that the decision by deputies of the Lviv Regional Council to declare 2027 the 'year of Roman Shukhevych, the UPA and Oleh Olzhych' was made at the regional level without consultations with diplomats and central authorities. This was reported by 'European Pravda.' The ministry stated that it continues to work on developing friendly bilateral relations with Poland and criticized the regional council's decision.

Statement of the Ministry

The statement of Ukraine's Foreign Ministry reads: 'In this context, we believe that the recent decision of the Lviv Regional Council, touching upon sensitive historical issues of the bilateral agenda, is counterproductive to our current efforts aimed at further developing Ukrainian-Polish relations, resolving problematic issues amid the full-scale Russian aggression and unprecedented security threats to our two countries and the region as a whole.'

Poland's Reaction

In October, the Lviv Regional Council declared 2027 the year of Shukhevych, the UPA and the OUN figure Oleh Olzhych. Poland's Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz called this decision 'unacceptable.' Head of the Polish Foreign Ministry Radosław Sikorski announced the addition of Lviv Regional Council deputy Sviatoslav Sheremet to the list of undesirable persons — according to him, the author of this idea. Earlier, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also reacted to the decision to declare 2027 the 'year of the UPA.'