There were expected to be fresh heroes. There's a UPA left

Once again, it turned out that the hopes of Ukraine abandoning OUN and UPA worship were an illusion. Despite the ongoing war with Russia, despite thousands of contemporary heroes fighting on the front and despite many years of appeals from Poland, the Kiev authorities inactive honor the figures associated with the formation liable for the extermination of tens of thousands of Poles. Newest monument for UPA commander Petr Hudzyski, it is simply a signal that Ukrainian policy remains unchanged on this issue – the country is officially a cult of Nazi collaborators.

There were to be fresh heroes, but the latest decision of the Ukrainian authorities to honour Petr Hudzyski ps. “Oczetenko” with a monument in the village of Botyn, one more time shows that the hopes of any Polish political elites to rapidly depart Ukraine from the traditions of the OUN and UPA proved to be flammable. Next to the monument was the standard flag, the red-black flag of criminals.

Petro Hudzowaty was 1 of the commanders of UPA – a formation that carried out anti-Polish action in Volyn and east Galicia from 1943 to 1945. According to the findings of Polish historians, OUN-UPA's actions led to the death of about 100,000 citizens of the second Polish nationality.

Contrary to many years of naive, Polish-speaking publicists and politicians, the war with Russia did not lead to the replacement of the erstwhile heroes with fresh symbols of the modern conflict for independence. On the contrary, in many cases we observe a continuation of historical policy, in which OUN activists and UPA commanders proceed to occupy an crucial place in the national pantheon.

The case caused peculiar emotions due to the memory of the crimes committed on the Polish population during planet War II. The Institute of National Memory and the vast majority of Polish historians have no uncertainty that UPA is liable for the genocide committed in Poles in Volyn and east Galicia. The Polish Ministry of abroad Affairs has besides stressed in fresh weeks that the glorification of UPA hurts the memory of victims and hinders historical dialog between nations.

In the case of Petr Hudzona, like another UPA commanders, historical findings on the activities of the structures he commanded or served in are essential. Very circumstantial technological publications attribute to Hudzona's participation in anti-Polish activities, which should be the subject of an open historical debate, not omitting uncomfortable facts and a top-down, systemic creation of the cult of this character. Importantly, his engagement in later fighting against the Soviets does not change anything. In the same way, no 1 in Europe is glorifying the Nazis, although they besides fought Stalin.

In fresh years, both politicians associated with the Civic Platform and the Law and Justice frequently convinced the public that the Russian-Ukrainian War would lead to a fundamental change in Ukrainian memory policy. Many times it was possible to hear the argument that contemporary Ukraine already has its own heroes – defenders of Mariupol, Bachmut or Awdijiwka – and so the importance of the CNS and UPA will gradually decrease.

The reality turned out to be more complicated. Despite the emergence of a fresh generation of war heroes, the Ukrainian state did not quit appeals to UPA. In May 2026 president Volodymyr Zelenski gave 1 of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine the name “UPA heroes”, which sparked a sharp reaction in Poland. Both Polish state institutions and part of the political class took a critical position.

For many Poles, this is proof that earlier forecasts proved to be wrong. It was assumed that Ukrainian society would spontaneously reject the figures associated with the CNS and UPA, recognising them as a burden in relations with neighbours. Meanwhile, subsequent decisions by the Kiev authorities indicate that a large part of Ukrainian public opinion inactive sees these formations primarily through the prism of the fight against the USSR and the pursuit of independence, not by the prism of crimes committed on the civilian population, which, by the way, in Ukrian, is not said publically or taught in schools.

The past of fresh years shows that the anticipation of the automatic disappearance of CNS and UPA worship in Ukraine has not been confirmed in facts. alternatively of assuming that the problem will vanish itself, the Polish state should consistently request historical truth, the right to exhume victims and the unequivocal condemnation of crimes committed in Poles. Since Ukraine does not intend to quit the cult of criminals, it should endure the salty consequences, for example, in the form of the blocking of further financial and military support by Warsaw.

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