Bloomberg: Row Over WWII Fighters Who Killed Poles Fuels Ukraine Tensions

Ukraine’s top diplomat urged Polish politicians not to “spin the flywheel of hatred” after criticism in Warsaw of Kyiv’s decision to name a military unit after World War II-era Ukrainian nationalist fighters whom Poland holds responsible for massacres of its people, writes Bloomberg.

The dispute has prompted a threat from President Karol Nawrocki to strip Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Poland’s highest state honor and a call from the parliament’s far-right deputy speaker to block Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.

“We cannot forget that fighting each other will lead us to the edge of the abyss,” Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s former envoy in Warsaw who speaks fluent Polish, said in a post on X. “I call for dialog and the strengthening of our relations in line with our security priorities and the prosperous future of our nations.”

“This is especially true now, as the threat from our historic enemy, Russia, once again looms over all of us,” Sybiha wrote on Wednesday.

Zelenskyy last month agreed to rename a military unit as Heroes of the UPA, or the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.

The UPA is hailed by Kyiv for its guerrilla independence warfare during and after World War II, but remains a long-standing source of tension with Poland for its involvement in ethnic cleansings that killed an estimated 100,000 Poles including women and children in Volhynia region.

The parliament in Warsaw has described the 1940s massacres in the territories now belonging mainly to Ukraine as genocide. While Kyiv recognizes the atrocities and has agreed to allow the exhumation of the victims, it has also called on Warsaw not to politicize the issue — and to seek ways for a peaceful settlement.

The latest flareup comes as Poland’s solidarity with Ukraine has shown signs of cracking more than four years into the war that turned the EU’s biggest eastern member into a hub of western military aid for Kyiv.

Ukraine is also looking to speed up the opening of EU membership talks with Hungary likely to drop its opposition after a change of government in Budapest.

Poland’s Nawrocki tapped into souring sentiment during his successful election campaign last year when he spoke against extending support for Ukrainians living in the country. Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a fierce rival of Nawrocki, called for the two presidents to deescalate the tensions.

Tusk also said Ukraine’s move was “worrying” from the point of view of the relations between the two nations.

“I know for certain that our military had absolutely no anti-Polish intent,” Sybiha wrote. “We are grateful to Poland for its leadership in supporting Ukraine during this terrible time of war.”

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