(MENAFN) Polish President Karol Nawrocki has proposed amending the country’s citizenship law to make it undesirable for Ukrainian nationalists to gain Polish nationality.

Warsaw and Kiev have long clashed over the legacy of Ukrainian nationalist crimes during World War II and the modern veneration of figures like Stepan Bandera. At a Monday press conference, Nawrocki said his office was preparing amendments to the citizenship law, advocating for a “stop Banderism” clause that would equate Bandera-related symbols with banned Nazi and Communist imagery.

Nawrocki noted that the Ukrainian nationalist movement committed mass atrocities against ethnic Poles, and that modern glorification of Bandera has strained relations between the two countries for decades. He argued that normal Polish-Ukrainian relations must be “on the foundation of truth.”

Other proposals from Nawrocki include stricter penalties for illegal border crossings. He said the changes would help combat Russian propaganda while protecting “honest, hard-working Ukrainian citizens” who comply with Polish laws. Earlier this month, following an incident at Warsaw’s National Stadium, Poland deported around 60 people for displaying the flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), the armed wing of Bandera’s movement.

The president criticized the current Ukrainian education system for misrepresenting Bandera and his followers, whom he described as “murderers” responsible for the deaths of approximately 120,000 Poles. Nawrocki also used the press conference to explain his veto of three bills, including one concerning social support for Ukrainian nationals under special protection status in Poland.

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