MFA: Commemoration of UPA heroes carried no anti-Polish undertones
The history of the Polish and Ukrainian peoples contains both glorious and tragic chapters, but the commemoration of Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) heroes had no anti-Polish undertones.
This was stated by Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in response to questions from journalists, according to Ukrinform.
“We are seeing a sharp reaction in Poland to the decision to name one of the Ukrainian units after the heroes of the UPA. It is regrettable that this is happening contrary to the broader trend toward resolving problematic issues in Ukrainian-Polish relations, which has been observed over the past year and a half,” he noted.
Tykhyi emphasized that during this time, both sides have made significant efforts to resolve complex issues of the historical past and to establish dialogue and mutual understanding. In particular, the process of searches and exhumations has been resumed, and the Congress of Historians has resumed its activities for the first time in many years.
In this context, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson stressed that discussions about the past must be professional and based on reliable sources, and emphasized that, as our history confirms, only Moscow benefits from disputes between Ukrainians and Poles.
“Today, the Ukrainian military is defending not only Ukraine but all of Europe. By initiating the conferral of an honorary title for their unit, our soldiers certainly did not intend to offend the friendly Polish people. For them, the UPA’s struggle symbolizes exclusively opposition to Moscow’s imperial policies and is in no way directed against Poles,” Tykhyi emphasized.
According to him, Ukraine acknowledges that the history of our two nations has different chapters—both glorious and tragic.
The Foreign Ministry spokesperson recalled that yesterday marked the 80th anniversary of the Hrubieszów Operation, in which Ukrainian insurgents, together with Polish partisans, carried out a successful attack on NKVD troops. And in earlier eras, Ukrainians and Poles together won many glorious victories over their age-old enemy in Moscow—from Orsha to the Miracle on the Vistula. At the same time, he noted, it is impossible to deny the tragic chapters, in particular the crimes against the civilian population committed by military personnel of Ukrainian and Polish units during World War II.
“Ukraine does not shy away from this conversation, responds constructively to requests from the Polish side regarding exhumations, is building a dialogue between historians and experts step by step, and seeks dialogue on sensitive pages of the past without politicization,” the Foreign Ministry spokesperson assured.
He added that we cannot allow disputes over the past to undermine our resistance against a common enemy now, when Ukraine, with Poland’s support, is holding back Russian aggression. He thanked Poland and the Polish people, who have supported Ukraine from the very first moments of Russia’s unprovoked and criminal war.
“For our part, we emphasize our readiness to continue sharing the experience and lessons learned through bloodshed on the battlefield,” Tykhyi noted.
As reported by Ukrinform, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to bestow the honorary title “Named After the Heroes of the UPA” on the “North” Special Operations Center of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.