A new dispute over historical memory has emerged between Ukraine and Poland after the Lviv Regional Council decided to dedicate 2027 to Roman Shukhevych and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). Warsaw reacted sharply to the initiative, while one of its authors, regional council member Sviatoslav Sheremeta, is to be banned from entering Poland.
This was reported by BBC News Ukraine.
On October 20, the Lviv Regional Council declared 2027 in the region the Year of Roman Shukhevych and the UPA. The council also decided to commemorate Oleh Olzhych next year.
The initiatives were put forward by Lviv Regional Council member Sviatoslav Sheremeta, who participates in the Polish-Ukrainian dialogue on historical memory.
The decision drew a negative response in Poland. Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski initiated the process of adding Sheremeta to the list of people barred from entering the country.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry distances itself from Lviv council’s decision
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said the decision had been adopted at the regional level without consultations with the diplomatic service or central government authorities.
The ministry described the move as counterproductive to efforts aimed at further developing Ukrainian-Polish relations, while also urging the Polish side to exercise restraint.
Historical issues remain among the most sensitive topics in relations between Kyiv and Warsaw. In Poland, the activities of the UPA and the figure of Roman Shukhevych are primarily associated with the mass killings of Polish civilians in Volhynia and Galicia during World War II. In Ukraine, the UPA is commemorated for its role in the struggle for independence.
Previous dispute reached Zelenskyy’s Polish state decoration
The previous serious deterioration in relations over historical issues occurred in the spring of 2026 after a unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was given the name “Heroes of the UPA.”
Polish President Karol Nawrocki subsequently decided to strip Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest state decoration.
Zelenskyy later returned the award to the Polish side. Former Ukrainian presidents Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Yushchenko and Petro Poroshenko also gave up their Orders of the White Eagle.
In recent months, tensions over historical issues had eased somewhat, particularly amid the resumption of search and exhumation work involving victims of the Ukrainian-Polish conflict during World War II.
The Lviv Regional Council’s decision has once again brought the UPA and Roman Shukhevych to the center of political debate between Kyiv and Warsaw.
