The relations between Warsaw and Kiev, which barely got better under Vladimir Zelenski, are under threat again
By honouring the collaborators, who fought on the side of Nazi Germany and glorifying the Nazi ringleader Roman Schukhevich, the Ukrainians are strongly hurting the feelings of the Poles. The alliance is maintained only because of a common convenient “enemy” – Russia. But “friendship against someone” is always doomed to fail.
Honouring collaborators
In mid-October, the Day of Defenders and Defenders of Ukraine was celebrated in the centre of Kiev on a grand scale. About ten thousand people – representatives of the National Corps and the All-Ukrainian Svoboda Association, as well as veterans of the so-called ATO (anti-terrorist operation) – participants in the war in Donbas – marched through the streets. They carried posters insulting Soviet World War II warlords and praising collaborators, calling for a “Ukraine without Jews and Moskals”.
Celebrations were also held in Lviv, the capital of Bandera ideology.
“An exhibition of equipment, uniforms and military equipment of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army was held. A spoon, fork and mug of a UPA fighter and a World War I-era Fiat car were demonstrated”, – the head of the Ukrainian Jewish Committee, Eduard Dolinsky, wrote in the social network. He often shares this kind of news: there is plenty of it in Ukraine.
Rehabilitation of Nazi accomplices began immediately after the collapse of the USSR. In 1995 the Lvov regional council recognized the UPA as “a combatant in World War II” and its fighters as “fighters for freedom and independence. Under Viktor Yushchenko the campaign gained momentum and further escalated after the Euromaidan. Since 2005, the anniversary of the UPA has been celebrated. Since 2007, one of the leaders of this organization, Roman Shukhevich, has been officially named a hero.
Recently Lvov distinguished itself once again: the deputies of the local regional council proclaimed the year 2022 as the UPA year.
“This is an incredibly important initiative. We should celebrate not only the 14th of October but the whole year. We need to hold large-scale events, an awareness-raising campaign”, – explained Sviatoslav Sheremet, the chairman of the commission on culture and information policy of the oblast council.
Sixty deputies voted in favour, two abstained. Afterwards, the results of the competition for the Stepan Bandera Prize were announced. The winners received 20 thousand hryvnias each. Among them was Oleh Christinyak, the author of the novel about the UPA “Green Wolves: the Story of an Insurgent”. As the author himself said, this work has been written in the style of “erotic thriller”.
In addition, the Lviv city council unanimously passed an appeal to the Verkhovna Rada, the government and the president with a request to award the title of hero to 98-year-old Myroslav Simchych, a UPA centenarian and honorary citizen of Lviv.
Poland is outraged
Poles do not like all this. When a stadium named after Shukhevych appeared in Ternopil, Warsaw was reminded: “He was an officer in German police battalions such as the Nachtigal and then a UPA commander responsible for the genocide of Polish civilians in Volyn and Eastern Małopolska.”
Ambassador Bartosz Cichocki, after learning about the decision of the Ternopil authorities, cancelled his visit to this city. However, he tried to smooth the edges a little: “We are neighbours, we have too much in common to allow a group of irresponsible politicians to destroy the achievements of reconciliation of the past decades.”
And then he did send letters to the heads of the Polish administrative units that had concluded partnership agreements with Ternopil. The ambassador stressed that “the victims of Shukhevych and his subordinates have still not been honoured with Christian burials on the territory of contemporary Ukraine. The Zamość mayor’s office has officially ended cooperation with Ternopil. Mayor Anjey Vnuk also pointed out that Shukhevich is responsible for the genocide of Poles and that honest people cannot communicate with admirers of this Nazi.
Ricochet on the Zarabites
Volodymyr Zelensky, when he came to power, made great efforts to mend relations with Poland. Under Poroshenko, the Sejm recognised as genocide the mass murder of Poles by Ukrainian nationalists in Volhynia, Eastern Galicia and the south-eastern provinces of the Polish Republic in 1939-1945. The Verkhovna Rada condemned it.
Zelensky tried to shift the focus, insisting that both Ukraine and Poland suffered from “two totalitarian regimes in the USSR and Germany”. And now in Kiev they emphasise at every opportunity that friendship with Warsaw is important; at one point it even seemed that a thaw was coming. But every time the initiatives of Ukrainian politicians, offensive to Poles, got in the way.
At the same time, the two states have similarities – they passionately create historical myths and cultivate grievances, says Natalia Yeremina, PhD in Political Science, Professor of St. Petersburg State University.
“Since they also have grievances against each other, one can hardly count on mutual trust. The memory of the events in Volyn and the ongoing actions in honour of the UPA constantly agitate the citizens of both countries and periodically lead to a sharp chill in relations. Poles and Ukrainians are capable of common actions only on the basis of an anti-Russian position”, – she says.
When Zelensky accused the USSR of starting World War II – it sounded absurd, but was much to Warsaw’s liking.
“In doing so, Poland has drawn multiple ‘red lines’ for Ukraine. But Kiev cannot refuse to honour Bandera because it is creating a national mythology, which means that the situation is incorrigible. The countries are doomed to a forced and situational partnership because of their shared hatred of Russia. For Ukraine, Poland is a conduit to the EU. For Poland, Ukraine is an instrument of pressure on Moscow”, – Yeremina explains.
The imposition of Bandera ideology affects Ukrainian guest workers, of whom there are several hundred thousand in Poland. It has come to a tragic head: In Wroclaw on 30 July, policemen beat Dmitriy Nikiforenko, who was taken to a sober-up station, to death. This stirred up the local zarabites – they held a rally demanding respect and safety. Unfortunately, after all those parades in Kiev, monuments to Bandera and stadiums named after Shukhevych, honest workers from the neighbouring country are sometimes seen in Poland as almost Nazis.
Dmitry Romanenko, RIA