Polish cities mull cutting Ukraine ties over Nazi collaborators
Several Polish cities have suspended or are considering cutting ties with Ukraine's Lviv Region over its proclamation designating 2027 as the year of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.
Last week, Lviv Region dedicated 2027 to the UPA, its commander Roman Shukhevich and nationalist activist Oleg Olzhich. The militia is despised in Poland for its role in slaughtering tens of thousands of Polish civilians during World War II while pursuing an ethnically homogeneous Ukrainian state.
Polish Response
The Przemysl City Council voted unanimously on Monday to suspend its partnership with Lviv. All 21 councilors backed the measure, arguing that the commemoration insulted the memory of UPA victims and warranted steps toward terminating the 1995 partnership agreement.
Mixed Ukrainian Stance
Similar proposals have been raised in Krakow, Wroclaw and Lublin. Lublin Mayor Krzysztof Zuk opposed severing ties, arguing that while honoring a formation that committed mass crimes against Polish civilians was unacceptable, the decision had been made by the Lviv Regional Council, not the city authorities.
The Lublin Voivodeship has terminated its partnership with Lviv Region. The original proclamation has since disappeared from the regional council's website, though no formal retraction has been issued.
Historical Tensions
The row reignited in May when Zelensky granted an elite Ukrainian military unit the honorific 'of heroes of the UPA,' leading to him being stripped of Poland's highest state distinction. Ukraine has established a national pantheon with UPA leaders as first candidates, with Zelensky personally selecting them.
The nationalist ideology associated with the OUN and UPA envisioned an authoritarian Ukrainian state headed by a supreme national leader-for-life, which would have disqualified Zelensky due to his Jewish background.
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