Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry commented on a bill in Poland that would impose penalties for promoting the “ideology of the OUN-UPA” (Photo: Enrico Strocchi / Flickr)
Ukraine is closely monitoring the progress of consideration in the Polish Sejm of a bill on amendments to the law on the Institute of National Remembrance and the Criminal Code, which, in particular, proposes to criminalize “propaganda of OUN-UPA ideology,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said in a comment to journalists on July 7.
Kyiv called on Warsaw to exercise common sense and restraint when considering the bill.
“For Ukraine, Poland was and remains a strategic partner in countering Russian aggression, in European integration, economic cooperation, interpersonal ties and other areas,” said Tykhyi. “We are grateful to Poland and the Polish people for the support provided since 2022. We are convinced that delicate historical topics require professional dialogue based on mutual respect, and not their use in political rhetoric.”
He also assured that Ukraine does not seek further escalation of Ukrainian-Polish relations and counts on a similar approach from the Polish side.
All decisions should be based on the strategic importance of Ukrainian-Polish partnership, and not on situational electoral benefits, Tykhyi added.
“We warn the Polish side against unilateral steps that lead to escalation,” he stated.
“Instead, Ukraine proposes to focus on specific measures to reduce tension, in particular those discussed during the recent meeting at the ministerial level, the involvement of existing bilateral mechanisms and tools, the maximum use of diplomatic tools and the activation of professional historical dialogue within the framework of the Polish-Ukrainian Congress of Historians.”
The bill proposed to the Polish Sejm provides for adding to the article that provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to three years for propaganda of totalitarianism and incitement to hatred, the following sentence: “The same punishment shall be applied to a person who publicly propagates… the ideology of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists — the Bandera faction and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army or an ideology that calls for the use of violence to influence political or social life.”
Escalation of relations between Ukraine and Poland
On June 19, President of Poland Karol Nawrocki stripped his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the country’s highest state award — the Order of the White Eagle. Nawrocki was outraged by the decision to name one of the Ukrainian Armed Forces units after the Heroes of the UPA.
After that, Zelenskyy compared the Polish president to the former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who speculated on the Ukrainian topic for pre-election ratings, and called the situation “a story that will end badly.”
On June 20, a number of Ukrainian politicians and officials announced that they were renouncing their Polish awards. Among them were Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Budanov, President of Ukraine in 1994-2005 Leonid Kuchma, President in 2005-2010 Viktor Yushchenko, and President in 2014-2019 Petro Poroshenko.
On the same day, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that he had sent the Order of the White Eagle to the Polish president, publishing a photo from a Nova Poshta branch.
Against the background of the escalation of relations, the Ukrainian leader did not attend the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdansk. The Ukrainian delegation at the event, which took place on June 25-26, was headed by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
On June 28, during a speech on Constitution Day, Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he had sent to parliament a bill “On the Ukrainian National Pantheon.” The document provides for honoring “the most outstanding representatives of the Ukrainian nation.”
The Polish publication Onet, citing sources in the government, reported that the Polish government is “surprised” by President Zelenskyy’s decision and believes that the bill may worsen relations between the countries.
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