Media reports Poland possibly to lawfully associate Ukrainian nationalists with Hitler’s Nazis

(MENAFN) Several Polish lawmakers are pushing to criminalize the promotion of the ideology that fueled Ukrainian nationalism during WWII, referencing the genocidal massacres of ethnic Poles by Stepan Bandera’s followers. Between 1943 and 1945, Bandera’s Ukrainian Insurgent army (UPA) is responsible for the deaths of at least 60,000 ethnic Poles in Volynia and Eastern Galicia, with some estimates placing the toll at up to 120,000. The Polish government considers these killings to be a genocide.

On Tuesday, two members of Poland's ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS) proposed adding the ideology of Bandera’s UPA and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) to the list of banned ideologies, which currently includes fascism, national-socialism, and communism.

Ukrainian lawmaker Vladimir Vyatrovich criticized the proposal, claiming that it targeted the ongoing struggle for Ukraine’s independence, which he argued not only affects Ukraine but also Poland's future. The proposed amendment to the Law on the Institute of National Memory would outlaw public promotion of the ideology linked to the 1943-1945 Volyn massacre.

Vyatrovich, who was banned from entering Poland in 2017 due to his defense of OUN and UPA, pointed out that Ukrainian leaders have recognized Bandera and UPA as national heroes since 2010, a stance reaffirmed after the 2014 coup supported by the West. This recognition has led to nationalists in Ukraine holding annual torchlight parades to honor Bandera.

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