The key facts
- According to sources of RBK-Ukraine and Ukrainska Pravda, the delivery of a major weapons package from Poland to Ukraine was suspended after the Lviv Regional Council's decision on the 'UPA year'
- Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Bosacki told Polsat News that an agreement had been reached that the decision will not take effect, and the resolution has been removed from the council's website
- Negotiations are underway through closed diplomatic channels; the issue concerns a specific major weapons package
Suspension of the aid package
RBK-Ukraine and Ukrainska Pravda reported on October 21, citing their own sources, that the decision of the Lviv Regional Council was made at a time when Poland was preparing to transfer a major weapons package to Ukraine. The council approved dedicating 2027 to the UPA, its commander Roman Shukhevych, and Oleh Olzhych, a representative of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. According to RBK-Ukraine's source, after this decision the delivery of the military aid package was suspended. The reports concern a specific major weapons package. To resolve the situation, negotiations are being conducted through closed diplomatic channels.
Warsaw's position
Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Bosacki said in an interview with the TV channel Polsat News that an agreement had been reached with Kyiv that the controversial decision will not take effect. According to him, after Warsaw's intervention, the resolution on the 'UPA year' was removed from the website of the Lviv Regional Council. 'We trust the government of Ukraine and expect these promises to be fulfilled,' Bosacki said.
Historical context
Attitudes toward the UPA are one of the historical disputes between Poland and Ukraine: in Poland, the organization is considered responsible for the mass killings of Poles in Volhynia during World War II. DW recalls that at the end of May, the awarding of the honorary name 'UPA heroes' to one of the Armed Forces of Ukraine units by Volodymyr Zelensky caused sharp discontent in Poland. In June, Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped Zelensky of the country's highest state award — the Order of the White Eagle — after which a number of Ukrainian officials and former presidents refused Polish state awards. On July 11, the day of remembrance for the victims of the Volhynia tragedy, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that 'memory must not serve hatred,' while Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz emphasized the importance of reconciliation. On July 17, Zelensky announced a decision to declassify archives of the Ukrainian special services concerning the events in Volhynia.
