The European Parliament (EP) has regretted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's decision to name a military unit of the World War II nationalist organization the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army, ed.), which has caused tension in bilateral relations with Warsaw, the Polish news agency PAP reported, quoted by BTA.
In a resolution on the progress of Ukraine's accession to the EU, the EP called the naming of an elite Ukrainian military unit after the heroes of the UPA “an act of unnecessary and unprovoked escalation by Zelensky“.
The EP regretted that, given Poland's unwavering support for Ukraine fighting Russian aggression, the sensitivity of the historical issue had been ignored, as well as the pain caused by the decision to a society whose tens of thousands of civilians were killed by the UPA during World War II.
The resolution stated that Zelensky's decision was detrimental to Ukraine's good-neighbourly relations with Poland and to earlier efforts to resolve unresolved issues from the two countries' common history. The EP also noted that as such it was contrary to European values.
The corresponding amendment to the EP resolution on Ukraine was tabled by the European People's Party, which includes MEPs from the centrist Civic Coalition of Poland and the agrarian Polish People's Party. It was adopted with 592 votes “for“, 42 “against“ and 11 “abstains“.
In late May, Zelensky decided to name a Ukrainian military unit “Heroes of the UPA“ - a formation responsible for the mass murder of tens of thousands of Poles in present-day Western Ukraine during World War II. The decision sparked strong criticism and even outrage among Polish politicians. A few weeks later, Nawrotsky stripped Zelensky of Poland's highest decoration - the Order of the White Eagle, which in turn prompted a number of Ukrainian politicians to renounce their Polish decorations. Since then, relations between Warsaw and Kiev have significantly deteriorated.