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    Zelenskyj ha dato all’unità militare il nome di “Eroi dell’UPA”. Polemiche sulla decisione

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    1. woronicz on

      TRANSLATION:

      **Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky decided to name one of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine after the “Heroes of the UPA”. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which is the subject of this decision, is considered responsible in Poland for mass crimes against the Polish population in Volhynia.**

      In a decree issued on Wednesday, the head of the Ukrainian state announced that he had named the “Heroes of the UPA” the Independent Special Operations Center “North” of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

      He explained that he did so “in order to restore the historical traditions of the national army and taking into account the exemplary performance of the tasks entrusted to him in the defense of the territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine.”

      **A unit with a controversial name. Historians warn**

      According to historians, in July 1943, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army carried out a coordinated attack on about 150 towns inhabited by Poles in the districts of Volodymyr, Horokhov, Kovel and Lutsk of the former Volyn Voivodeship in present-day Ukraine.

      The perpetrators of the crime, which is also called the Volyn massacre, were members of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN)— B (Bandera faction) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army subordinate to it.

      Poland and Ukraine have been different in their assessment of the activities of the OUN and UPA for years. For the Polish side, the events in Volhynia were a crime of genocide, for the Ukrainians it was the result of a symmetrical armed conflict, for which both sides were equally responsible. In addition, Ukrainians perceive the OUN and UPA mostly as anti-Soviet organizations (due to their post-war resistance movement against the USSR), rather than anti-Polish.

      A few days ago, the Ukrainian authorities brought the ashes of one of the OUN activists, Andriy Melnyk, to the country. The Israeli Yad Vashem Institute assessed that his reburial raises serious doubts. Commemorating the leader of a formation collaborating with Nazi Germany undermines the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, the institute stressed.

    3. Ok_Campaign_4775 on

      Ukraine should really stop giving the “ukraine has nazi problem” crowd the ammunition. This is getting ridiculous

    4. Lapkonium on

      Did he also announce the grand opening of the “Hall of UPA”?

    6. MrKorakis on

      Yeah let’s glorify the nazi collaborators that’s a good look…

    7. danrokk on

      Cannot wait to see how people will try to twist it so that it’s actually a good thing. Especially this asshole Jurasz

    8. FoxFXMD on

      So at which point can we start to acknowledge that Ukraine has a nazi problem without idiots who think the world is black and white claiming that it’s Russian propaganda.

    11. armatka on

      Imagine how democratic countries would react if Germany named a military unit after a famous Austrian painter.

    12. Alboralix on

      That is *not* a good fucking look. He also recently buried, **with full state honour**, Andriy Melnyk who was a genocidal ultranationalist nazi collaborator that killed many poles and jews.

      Like at some point it shouldn’t be controversial to say this is some *far-right* (kof) shit…

    13. UseStrange2382 on

      Does he realy want to convince **Poland** of all places that Russia is in the right and? Realy?

    14. Ben_C17 on

      This keeps happening because the domestic political pressure inside Ukraine to rehabilitate nationalist figures from the 1940s has been building since 2014 it predates the current war and hasn’t gone away despite the obvious diplomatic cost. The UPA fought the Soviets, which makes them heroes in one Ukrainian historical lens. They also murdered tens of thousands of Polish civilians in Volhynia between 1943-1944, which makes them perpetrators of ethnic cleansing in the Polish lens. Both are documented.

      The timing here is particularly bad. Poland is Ukraine’s single most important logistics corridor for Western military aid. Every major weapons system going into Ukraine moves through Polish territory. Naming a unit after figures Poland considers responsible for genocide while depending entirely on Polish cooperation for survival suggests the internal memory politics pressure is stronger than the external diplomatic logic.

      We’ve tracked this pattern at panopsik.com since mid-2022: Ukrainian commemorations or honors that cause friction with Poland, followed by quiet damage control, then it happens again six months later. It’s not coordinated provocation. It’s competing domestic constituencies inside Ukraine who see the war as a chance to cement their version of history.

    15. MeringueFinancial866 on

      As a Polish person I know UPA for:
      1. Boiling infants alive
      2. Sawing pregnant women in half starting at the crotch
      3. Pouring boiling water on a guy’s arm until they could peel skin and flesh off in layers
      4. Murdering those few Ukrainians who dared shelter their Polish neighbors
      5. Many more fucked up things I can’t remember now

      Those were not simple ethnic purges. Cruelty involved went beyond anything human.

    16. ensi-en-kai on

      Seriously, can we just stop with doing tango dance with nationalist from WWII ?

      Like , I can’t damn fathom that we either : so historically bankrupt – that our only heroes are muddy at best and full on genocidal at worst , or so morally innept – that we will kiss with any corpse rotting evil just because they said that “russia bad” .

      Name brigades after knyazs of Kievan Rus , after native species , after gods or whatever. But just stop effing stirring controversies because some shmuck in Lviv goes hype at the sight of blood-black flag .

    17. Lex4709 on

      I seriously hope, Polish leadership has some fucking backbone in this situation. No fucking negotiations or excuses. Ukraine stops pulling BS like this and publicly apologises to Poland, or Polands vetos EU aid to Ukraine, simply as that.

    18. FireMammoth on

      normally I view Zelensky in a very positive light, but this is truly fucked up. its completely ignorant towards the history and it spits in the face of one of their closest ally that took millions of their civilian refugees and supported them. fuck UPA nazis, fuck their cruelty, find something else to feel patriotic about because this is in terribly poor taste

    19. emilos260 on

      Lmao, I got downvoted before for saying that Ukraine still honors Nazi collaborators and genocidal killers of Poles and Jews. Friendship is friendship, history is history.

    20. dragontimur on

      I mean he could just… not do that? What even is the point in this? What does this do other than fuel Russian propaganda? jesus

    21. Marcin222111 on

      Ways of slaughter of poles by UPA in Volhynia massacre: https://przystanekhistoria.pl/pa2/teksty/117495,Ofiary-i-liczby-Dokumenty-zbrodni-wolynskiej-o-okolicznosciach-smierci-Polakow.html

      “…In Volume 1 of this publication, the list of tortures appears as follows:

      – cutting off hands, feet, noses, tongues, and heads,

      – “gouging out” eyes,

      – strangulation/hanging,

      – disembowelment,

      – knocking out teeth,

      – raping women,

      – repeatedly stabbing with a knife (up to 40 wounds),

      – “cutting arteries with knives,”

      – stretching a man with horses,

      – flaying alive,

      – sawing—even into 3 pieces,

      – cutting in half with a scythe,

      – driving pins (likely shoemaker’s pins) into hands, eyes, and ears,

      – nailing the tongue and hands,

      – driving nails into the head,

      – burying alive,

      – “cutting off the genitals of small children,”

      – tearing the body apart with barbed wire,

      – piercing with a pitchfork,

      – pulling out fingernails,

      – death from fear.

      Volume 2 lists the following tortures:

      – cutting off hands, legs, tongues, ears, breasts, heads,

      – suffocation,

      – breaking the bones of the hands, legs, fingers, and other bones,

      – dislocating joints,

      – burying alive,

      – cutting open the abdomen,

      – “gouging out” the eyes,

      – flaying alive,

      – piercing with a pitchfork,

      – scalping the head,

      – sawing in half,

      – wrapping in a bundle of straw and setting on fire,

      – cutting out body parts with a knife (specifically the muscles of the forearm),

      – forcing a bayonet that would not penetrate the victim’s body with the knee,

      – “cutting out the genitals of men,”

      – cutting out the front part of the face with a knife (“i.e., cheeks, nose, lips, gums, tongue”),

      – cutting the mouth from ear to ear,

      – placing the dead 3-year-old son into his father’s open abdominal cavity.”

    22. -Ozman on

      Does he not understand that if UPA were here today he would have been the first one on their list just because of his ethnicity? They would never tolerate a Jew running their country

    24. Imblueabudeeabudie on

      Tiger dyplomacy with nations you are completely at the mercy of, great idea

    25. LaurestineHUN on

      UPA did some Ustaše level crimes, let’s not glorify them even a little bit.

    31. letthetreeburn on

      They have history going back to the 9th century they couldn’t find ANY OTHER GROUP?

    32. Petalesharo on

      So what, you still claim there’s no fascism in Ukraine?
      There is, and an even worse form of it, in the form of Banderism! :/

    33. SnikkyType on

      So if they ever want to get into EU they will need all the nations within to agree. I don’t think that Poland will welcome them in.

    35. Galaxy661 on

      The Ukrainian government really loves shooting itself in the foot, huh

    36. WungielPL on

      And then they are surprised that many poles harbor resentment.

    38. Lord_Vacuum on

      As a Polish citizen I am most upset and triggered. This is not what we expected from a man like Zelenski. This will further antagonize Polish citizens against Ukrainian refugees. Totally unecessary move and in bad taste. Kind of proves Putin’s propaganda if I may speak honestly. Sad, very sad.

    39. Gaunterwithnomirrors on

      I can’t believe I am agreeing with russian bots here.
      It’s Trump-level move by Zelensky, bravo

    40. aaarry on

      I was in Ukraine last week volunteering and I am astounded by how much the UPA continues to play a role in the national culture. I fully support Ukraine in their defence against their warmongering neighbours, but if they want to continue to maintain the support of their better neighbours and international allies then they need to find a way to clamp down on this over time (or at the very least, not name an entire unit after them). Stop giving the “Ukraine are Nazis” crayon munchers shit to throw at you.

    41. Sankullo on

      Kind of weird for a Jewish dude to do that. Fuck Russian propaganda but if anyone knows UPA or their political wing OUN has to be baffled by Jewish dude doing something like this.

      I suppose it is to control internal politics in Ukraine and to have the people of the ento-nationalistic views under control.

      I can’t see any other logical reason why Jewish (roots) president of Ukraine would nominate people who staffed German death camps, committed pogroms and fought for “racially pure” Ukraine as heroes of Ukraine in 2026.

    42. MMN_NLD on

      That…. is really not a smart move. UPA where is disgusting unit.

      Mosters in real life. Came straight from hell to have R&R on earth.

      That unitname should now, or ever be honored. NEVER.

      I support Ukraine, but not this choice.

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