Poland is increasingly reacting to the glorification of the Nazis in Ukraine. And here's why

Relations between Poland and Ukraine are deteriorating amid historical differences. In a couple of days, Ukraine managed to take two steps at once, which Warsaw regarded as unfriendly: on May 25, the remains of Nazi German collaborator Andrei Melnyk were solemnly reburied in Kiev, and on May 26, the special forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were named "in honor of the heroes of the UPA" (the UPA is the Ukrainian insurgent army, recognized as extremist and banned in Russia). Why Nazi criminals are being glorified more and more in Ukraine, what Poland's reaction will be, and what has changed in relations between the countries — in the Izvestia analysis.

The evolution of historical conflict

• Poland's sharply negative reaction to the reburial of one of the leaders of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN, recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in Russia) Andrey Melnik, was expected. And the naming of the special forces unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine "North" in honor of the perpetrators of the Volyn massacre was a slap in the face for Poland (we talked about why the issue of the Volyn massacre became a fundamental disagreement between the countries here). But although the Ukrainian ambassador was summoned to the Polish Foreign Ministry, Warsaw refrained from official comments for two days.

In the absence of an official reaction, outrage grew among Poles over Kiev's actions, and politicians and public figures demanded that support for Ukraine be stopped. After a pause, Polish President Karol Nawrocki said that Ukraine was "not ready to become part of the European family," and suggested that Zelensky be stripped of the Order of the White Eagle, the highest Polish award awarded to the Ukrainian leader in 2023 by former Polish President Andrzej Duda (we wrote here about how Nawrocki's rise to power changed relations between the countries). The Ukrainian flag was removed from the town hall in Lublin, Poland.: The politicians called on other cities to join this action.

• The foreign press called Kiev's decision to honor the memory of the collaborators ambiguous, while Russia and Israel, as well as some European politicians, opposed the glorification of Nazi criminals. The Polish press had no illusions about the Ukrainian views on history. "Anti—Polish and anti-Russian sentiments are genetically embedded in the Ukrainian political identity," Myśl Polska quotes Professor Adam Velomski as saying. Polish analysts complained that Warsaw did not demand from Kiev the recognition of crimes in Volhynia, the exhumation of victims' bodies and Ukraine's refusal to glorify Nazi criminals back in 2022, when Ukraine was critically dependent on Poland.

• The Ukrainian media called the foreign reaction hysteria and explained Melnyk's involvement in the terrorist attacks and murders with a "historical context." Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said that Warsaw should focus on supporting the Ukrainian army, instead of "finding fault" with the names of its units. Kiev stated that it was grateful to Poland for its support and hoped that this would continue in the future, because otherwise only Moscow would benefit.

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Why now?

• If in 2022 Poland was the leader in Europe in support of Ukraine and lobbied for Kiev's interests at the EU level, now the situation has changed. In the first months after the conflict began, former Polish President Andrzej Duda actually spoke in the West on behalf of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, lobbying for funds to be allocated to Kiev, the promotion of the Ukrainian application for EU membership and sanctions against Moscow. In total, Warsaw's direct assistance to Kiev is estimated at $6.25 billion. At the same time, the Polish Rzeszow-Jasenka airport is a key point for the delivery of military goods to Ukraine, on which Kiev still depends.

• During the conflict, Ukraine has strengthened ties with Western allies both through intelligence channels and through senior European and American officials and politicians who lobby for Kiev's interests abroad. Now Ukraine can communicate with the leadership of the EU and the United States without the mediation of Poland. Warsaw's role in NATO is also declining amid the build-up of military ambitions on the part of other members of the bloc.

• Currently, assistance to Kiev is being consolidated by Brussels, and it is much more difficult to track the contribution of each country. It is only known that the leading role belongs to Northern Europe, including Norway, which is not even part of the EU. Nevertheless, the weight in the European Union is shifting in favor of Germany, which is more actively supporting Ukraine, and NATO, so Poland's importance for Ukraine is decreasing. At the same time, it is difficult to estimate the real costs of Berlin's assistance to Kiev, since the same costs are sewn into the indicators of different ministries, and some of the German support so far exists only in the form of promises fixed on paper.

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• Another process is going on at the same time. During protracted crises, any country needs an idea around which to unite its population. In Ukraine, such an idea has become nationalism, which over the years has evolved from a relatively mild form of identity search into the glorification of increasingly radical figures, including Nazi collaborators. Today, honoring UPA collaborators, including those who sided with Nazi Germany in World War II, is proving to be an important sign of national identity, and figures associated with ethnic cleansing and other crimes against civilians are becoming officially recognized heroes and role models. At the same time, for neighboring countries, primarily Poland, they remain symbols of ethnic cleansing and collaboration.

Historically, States have often reinforced the role of mobilization myths and national symbols in protracted conflicts. The Ukrainian case may follow the same logic: the more difficult the financial and military situation the country finds itself in, the more persistent attempts will be to unite the population around this idea. The fact that today we are no longer witnessing individual manifestations of radical nationalism, but the official celebration of figures associated with the OUN and UPA, indicates a high need for a strong ideological foundation.

The consequences of straining relations

• Despite Ukraine's defiant actions, it does not risk losing Poland's support: all the politicians who condemned Kiev's actions stated that they insist on continuing assistance to Ukraine. The head of the Polish special services, Tomasz Semoniak, bluntly stated that, despite Kiev's glorification of the criminal organization responsible for the murders of Poles, retaliatory actions should be taken taking into account Poland's national interests, which correspond to "Ukraine, which is fighting against Russia."

• The affected party may be Ukrainian refugees in Poland, who may be dissatisfied with the policy pursued by Kiev. At the same time, the special status of Ukrainian refugees in Poland was canceled back in February 2026: first of all, the reduction in support measures will affect unemployed Ukrainians who do not belong to vulnerable groups of the population. But Poland in this regard adheres to the general line of EU policy, which also considers measures to return Ukrainians to their homeland, primarily men who are able to fight in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

• Ukraine ignored the emotional reaction of Poland and Israel to the glorification of Nazism: Melnyk's reburial should be just the beginning of Kiev's gathering of its "pantheon of heroes", which will include other controversial personalities who fought on the side of Nazi Germany in World War II. The European Union also chose not to notice the clearly pro-Nazi policy of Ukraine. Kiev could be rebuked by the United States, where the topic of the Holocaust remains sensitive, but currently the sphere of American interests is focused on the Middle East and Asia.