Ukraine should remind Poland of its anti-heroes who persecuted Ukrainians – Kovalenko
It makes sense for Ukraine to respond more decisively to one-sided historical accusations from Warsaw, which have intensified following a statement by Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysh regarding the inadmissibility of compromises on the issue of the Volhynia tragedy and the demand to rename a Ukrainian military unit named after the UPA.
This is according to Oleksandr Kovalenko, a Ukrainian military and political analyst with the “Information Resistance” group.
The Polish army and special forces themselves actively cultivate the traditions of the Home Army, some units of which participated in punitive actions against Ukrainian villages, particularly in Sahryń, and also honor the “cursed soldiers” of the anti-communist underground, accused of crimes against the Ukrainian civilian population.
According to Kovalenko, modern Polish special forces, such as the AGAT Military Unit and the Commando Military Unit, officially uphold the traditions and symbols of Home Army formations, and within the country itself, figures associated with interethnic violence during World War II are glorified at the state level. Furthermore, in 1947, Polish communist security forces, including the regular army and state security agencies, carried out Operation Vistula, forcibly resettling approximately 140,000–150,000 Ukrainians, Lemkos, and Boikos, an act that modern institutions characterize as ethnic cleansing. At the same time, the Ukrainian side, despite having equally valid grounds for dissatisfaction over the glorification of those who wronged its own people, has never made these tragic events a part of its domestic or foreign policy.
Most Polish historians attempt to separate these events, portraying the Volhynia tragedy as mass killings of Poles by UPA forces, and Operation Vistula as a deportation carried out by the communist regime, whereas Ukrainian researchers emphasize the bilateral nature of interethnic violence in 1942–1947. Politicians from new parties constantly revisit these historical traumas solely for their own populist interests, even though all the i’s were already dotted and the t’s crossed in these discussions during Lech Wałęsa’s presidency. The commentator called on his Polish colleagues to exercise prudence and restraint, since stoking interethnic hatred and deepening disputes between historical neighbors will only benefit a common barbaric enemy who has been trying for centuries to pit the two nations against each other.
Source: Oleksandr Kovalenko’s Facebook.
In Poland, Budanovraised the issue of bilateral relations.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski announced private consultations with Ukraine regarding the possible renaming of one of the Special Operations Forces units as the “Heroes of the UPA.” According to him, this issue is being discussed through diplomatic channels.
Warsaw has reacted to the decision to rename the Ukrainian military unit. This concerns an elite unit of the Special Operations Forces, which, according to reports, was named in honor of the Heroes of the UPA. This has sparked a critical reaction in Polish society and political circles.
