Donald Tusk met with Volodymyr Zelenski in Brussels for the first time since the outbreak of the dispute over giving the Ukrainian military unit the name “UPA heroes”. The conversation was needed, but the Polish state's right requires concrete: safety in cooperation with Kiev cannot mean giving up the fact about victims of genocide.
Summit discussion
Prime Minister Donald Tusk and president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenski met on 18 June in Brussels, on the margins of the European Union summit. The office of the president of Ukraine stated that the conversation afraid bilateral relations, the European aspirations of Kiev and the threats caused by Russian aggression. Zelenski thanked Poland for the aid given from the beginning of the full-scale war.
This was the first gathering of both politicians after Zelenski's decision, which sparked serious opposition in Poland. The authoritative Ukrainian message did not state whether and how the dispute about UPA was discussed. A image of leaders is not yet a solution to the crisis.
Poland has an interest in protecting Ukraine from Russia. Russian imperialism remains a real threat to the full region. However, this does not consequence in a work of silence erstwhile the authorities in Kiev make decisions that reconcile Polish victims. Partnership requires reciprocity.
A decision that struck Polish memory
By a decree dated 26 May 2026, Volodymyr Zelenski gave the Separate peculiar Operations Centre “North” of the Armed Operations peculiar Forces of Ukraine the honorary name “UPA Heroes Name”. The justifications referred to the restoration of the military's national tradition and the disqualification of the individual for serving in the defence of the state.
In Poland, specified a name cannot be treated as an innocent symbol. The Institute of National Memory defines the crimes committed by OUN-B and UPA in Poles from 1943 to 1945 in Volyn, in east Galicia and in neighboring areas as anti-Polish cultural cleansing of the nature of genocide. The name UPA is so based on circumstantial villages, families and victims. The Polish State has a work to defender their memory.
Donald Tusk has already said on May 29 that Zelenski's decision violates Polish historical sensitivity and is worrying for common relations. The Ministry of abroad Affairs assessed it unequivocally negatively. The authorities in Warsaw were in line with the point: the crisis was triggered by the Ukrainian side and it should be she who should present a credible way out of it.
Cooperation yes, amnesia no
Polish policy towards Kiev was besides frequently based on the presumption that the aid given present will automatically bring thanks tomorrow. However, countries do not conduct abroad policy on the basis of gratitude. They number business, negotiating power and consistency.
Warsaw should at the same time support Ukraine's defence against Russia and powerfully request historical truth. These goals are not contradictory. On the contrary, a lasting alliance can only be built on respect for the memory of another nation. Glorifying the formation liable for mass murders in Poles destroys trust and gives Kremlin material to break up cooperation in our part of Europe.
The gathering in Brussels created a channel of conversation. Now we request action. Poland should anticipate a withdrawal of the disputed name or another clear step, which will show that the voice of Warsaw is crucial to Kiev. There is besides a request for consistent cooperation in search, exhumation and commemoration of victims.
More than 1 decree is at stake for Poles. The question is whether military, political and financial assistance will be part of a mature state policy, whether it will stay a motion without conditions and without reciprocity. Poland does not gotta choose between safety and memory. He needs to keep an eye on both of them.
Source: WP News
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