Poland condemns display of controversial UPA flags on armored vehicles supplied to Ukraine
Poland's Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz has ordered urgent communication with the Ukrainian attaché in Warsaw following an incident involving Ukrainian troops placing flags of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) on Polish Rosomak armored vehicles sent to support Ukraine's military efforts. Kosiniak-Kamysz termed the act as a provocation. "The display of UPA flags on Rosomak armored personnel carriers supplied by Poland to the Ukrainian army is an unacceptable provocation," he stated on platform X. The Minister further instructed contact with the Ukrainian attaché to clarify the situation.
The issue has been discussed in Polish media, with journalists from Polsat highlighting that the controversy was ignited after images surfaced online showing the red-and-black UPA flags adorning Polish Rosomaks on the Ukrainian front. The article notes ongoing significant disagreements between Ukraine and Poland over UPA's actions during World War II, including allegations by Poland against Ukrainian nationalists of ethnic violence against Poles during the 1943 Volhynia massacre.
In late November 2024, Polish and Ukrainian Foreign Ministers Radosław Sikorski and Andriy Sibyha in Warsaw announced a joint decision concerning the exhumation of Volhynia massacre victims. Additionally, a legislative proposal was introduced in the Polish Sejm earlier in December aiming to equate propaganda for the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and UPA with fascism, Nazism, and communism.