Karol Nawrocki
PiSInitiative : The EU Is No Place for “Glorifiers of Volhynia”
PiS Deputy Chairman Przemysław Czarnek announced the submission of a draft resolution to the Sejm calling on Donald Tusk’s government to officially protest Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, RTVI reports, citing Polish radio.
The reason for this drastic move was the ongoing glorification of UPA leaders at the state level in Ukraine. In particular, Warsaw’s strong reaction was triggered by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent decision to name one of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ elite units “Heroes of the UPA.” According to Czarnik, the European Union cannot accept into its ranks a state that openly appeals to “Nazi ideas and the legacy of the perpetrators of the Volhynia massacre.”
This issue has divided European institutions. The European Parliament has already adopted, by a majority vote, a resolution with an amendment expressing official regret over Zelenskyy’s decision, calling it “incompatible with European values” and harmful to good-neighborly relations.
Nevertheless, EU member states have tentatively agreed to open the next round of negotiations with Kyiv.
Navrotsky:“There Should Be No Red-and-Black Flag in Poland”
In parallel with the PiS parliamentary initiative, Polish President Karol Nawrocki issued a strong statement. During commemorative events in the village of Radruża, he directly compared the red-and-black flag of the UPA to the Nazi concept of “Blood and Soil” (Blut und Boden).
Navrotsky emphasized that he had prepared draft amendments to the Criminal Code and the law on the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), which would impose an official legal ban on the use of the UPA flag in Poland.
“We do not want to see this flag in Poland. I will do everything to ensure it is not here. I believe that the Polish parliament will pass the law. This flag embodies the entire ideology of Ukrainian nationalism, which killed Polish women and children,” the head of state declared, noting that this ideology claimed the lives of more than 100,000 Poles.
The president separately emphasized that Poland does not blame the entire Ukrainian people, but opposes exclusively “Bandera’s ideology,” recalling that among the nationalists’ victims were also “righteous Ukrainians” who saved Poles.
A Historical Impasse
Historical disagreements remain the main stumbling block in bilateral relations. Despite a recent “constructive” meeting—in Navrotsky’s words—with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Warsaw and Kyiv have still been unable to reach a consensus on the issues of exhuming victims and assessing historical events.
Against this backdrop, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has already announced the construction in Warsaw of a large-scale Wall of Remembrance bearing the names of all identified victims of the Volhynia massacre.
