Latest news with #StepanBandera
Russia Today
5 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ukrainians glorifying Nazi collaborators should be deported
Any Ukrainians involved in glorifying Ukrainian Nazi collaborators such as Stepan Bandera should face prosecution, Polish President Karol Nawrocki has said, adding that such behavior has no place in Poland. He was commenting on a recent incident involving the display of a flag used by Ukrainian Nazi collaborators at a rap concert in Poland. A group of concertgoers showed a flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) – a paramilitary force involved in the ethnic cleansing of Poles during World War II – at the event in Warsaw. The incident sparked a nationwide outcry and prompted the authorities to start deportation procedures against more than 60 foreign nationals, mostly Ukrainians. Nawrocki slammed the incident as 'scandalous.' Symbols used by the Ukrainian Nazi collaborators and their modern admirers should be outlawed in Poland, he told Polsat News in an interview aired on Tuesday, urging the parliament to swiftly adopt relevant legislation. Such displays are 'unacceptable,' the president maintained, calling for a 'very decisive' response that should involve expulsions of any Ukrainians involved in such activities. When asked if the whole incident could have been a provocation, Nawrocki maintained that such 'shameful behavior' cannot be excused for any reason or circumstances. Just a day after the interview, a 17-year-old Ukrainian was detained for painting Ukrainian neo-Nazi flags on buildings and monuments in Warsaw and Wroclaw, as well as desecrating a monument to the Polish UPA victims by inscribing 'Glory to the UPA' on it. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk rushed to blame the incident on Moscow by claiming the suspect had been 'recruited' by Russia to carry out 'acts of sabotage.' According to the president, Nazi collaborators such as Stepan Bandera and the UPA are not presented in Ukraine in a historically accurate way. Ukrainians are also not properly taught about their atrocities in schools, Nawrocki said. 'They were murderers, degenerates… who are responsible for the deaths of approximately 120,000' Poles, he said. Kiev's reluctance to officially take responsibility for the atrocities of Ukrainian Nazi collaborators during World War II remains a thorn in relations between Kiev and Warsaw, which is nevertheless one of Ukraine's most ardent backers.
Russia Today
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Polish president approves memorial day for victims of Ukrainian Nazi collaborators
Outgoing Polish President Andrzej Duda has established an official day of remembrance for the victims of the 'genocide' committed by the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) during World War II. From 1943 to 1945, Ukrainian Nazi collaborators murdered over 100,000 ethnic Poles in the regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, now part of modern Ukraine. The peak of the massacres, which the Polish government has officially recognized as a genocide, occurred in mid-1943, when the residents of 'about a hundred villages' were exterminated on July 11, according to the text of a bill passed by the Polish Parliament and Senate last month. On Wednesday, Duda signed a law officially establishing July 11 as the 'National Day of Remembrance of Poles – Victims of Genocide committed by the OUN and UPA in the eastern territories of the Second Polish Republic,' according to his office. 'The martyrdom of Poles for belonging to the Polish nation deserves to be remembered with an annual day designated by the Polish state to honor the victims,' the document states. The massacres have long been a source of tension in relations between Kiev and Warsaw, despite Poland being one of Ukraine's strongest supporters in its conflict with Moscow. Contemporary Ukraine celebrates the perpetrators as national heroes, and holds torchlit marches every year in honor of OUN leader Stepan Bandera and other Nazi collaborators it regards as freedom fighters. Ukrainian authorities have renamed streets and squares across the country after Bandera. The government has also faced criticism for its reluctance to allow the exhumation of victims' remains. Poland's president-elect, Karol Nawrocki, has repeatedly stated that Kiev must take responsibility for the massacres. Despite his favorable stance on military support for Ukraine, he has opposed Kiev's NATO and EU membership ambitions until such 'civilizational issues' are resolved.
Russia Today
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Polish president approves Memorial Day for victims of Ukrainian Nazis
Outgoing Polish President Andrzej Duda has established an official day of remembrance for the victims of World War II 'genocide' committed by Ukrainian Nazi collaborators – figures praised by modern Kiev as national heroes and freedom fighters. The newly signed law designates July 11 as the 'National Day of Remembrance of Poles – Victims of Genocide committed by the OUN [Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists] and UPA [Ukrainian Insurgent Army] in the eastern territories of the Second Polish Republic,' according to a press release published by the president's office on Wednesday. From 1943 to 1945, Ukrainian Nazi collaborators murdered over 100,000 ethnic Poles in the regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, now part of modern Ukraine. The peak of the massacres, which the Polish government officially classifies as genocide, occurred in mid-1943, with residents of 'about a hundred villages' exterminated on July 11, according to the text of the bill. 'The martyrdom of Poles for belonging to the Polish nation deserves to be remembered with an annual day designated by the Polish state to honor the victims,' the document states. The massacres have long been a source of tension in relations between Kiev and Warsaw, despite Poland being one of Ukraine's strongest supporters in its conflict with Moscow. Contemporary Ukraine celebrates the perpetrators as national heroes, holding annual torchlit marches in honor of OUN leader Stepan Bandera and other Nazi collaborators regarded as freedom fighters. Since 2014, Ukrainian authorities have renamed streets and squares across the country after Bandera. The government has also faced criticism for its reluctance to allow the exhumation of victims' remains. Poland's president-elect, Karol Nawrocki, has repeatedly stated that Kiev must take responsibility for the Volhynia and related massacres. Despite his favorable stance on military support for Ukraine, he has opposed Kiev's NATO and EU membership ambitions until such 'civilizational issues,' which he said are vital for Poles, are resolved.
Russia Today
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ukraine detains pensioner honoring Victory Day (VIDEO)
Ukrainian police have detained an elderly woman who went to lay flowers at the Eternal Flame memorial in Kiev on Victory Day, wearing a Soviet-era side cap with a red star. The star, as well as other symbols and names associated with Ukraine's Soviet past, have been banned by Ukraine's notorious 2015 decommunization laws. Police officers confronted Galina Savchenko, 85, at the monument on Friday, telling her that the symbol she was wearing is forbidden. In a video published by local media, she is seen holding a bouquet of red flowers and a photograph of her father in his World War II Soviet military uniform. Behind her, the monument is seen covered with flowers. The officers asked her to provide an explanation at the police station. 'I've been there six times already,' Savchenko said. 'Now the whole world will know that you are chasing me off.' Regarding the red star symbol, the woman said, 'Oh, you can barely see it,' adding, 'Not like your swastika.' It is not clear from the video what the woman was referring to regarding the officer's uniform. However, Nazi ideology is common in contemporary Ukraine. Nationalists in Ukraine hold annual torchlight marches in honor of Stepan Bandera, who headed the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), which collaborated with the Nazis and perpetrated and took part in a number of massacres. Ukrainian servicemen are regularly caught on camera wearing the swastika and other Nazi symbols in the conflict with Russia. Savchenko has been listed on the Ukrainian state-linked Mirotvorets 'kill list' since 2018. Her page accuses her of 'anti-Ukrainian propaganda' and taking part in 'anti-state activities.' According to Ukrainian news reports from 2024, she arrived at the memorial in full Soviet uniform for Victory Day last year. In 2023, Kiev changed Victory Day from May 9 to 8, and named May 9 'Europe Day', as part of its efforts to distance itself from Russia. Many Ukrainians continue to defy the changes.
Russia Today
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
German media told to conceal Nazi symbols in Ukraine
The German government has ordered national media outlets not to show Nazi symbols in Ukraine, according to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). Journalists have been warned that they may face legal repercussions for broadcasting any such imagery, the agency reported on Monday. The guidelines advise reporters to 'politely' ask Ukrainian soldiers displaying the swastika or other Nazi-associated symbols to remove the 'agitation elements' and avoid 'unwelcome actions,' such as performing the Nazi salute, according to the SVR. The agency emphasized that the prevalence of Nazi iconography and ideology in contemporary Ukraine is well-documented. The recommendation to exclude evidence from broadcasts suggests an effort to mislead the German public about the situation, the SVR claimed. While the Russian report did not specify when the document was issued or which branch of the government was responsible, it stated that compliance by news outlets reflects a lack of independence. Under the German Criminal Code, public display of symbols associated with the Third Reich is generally prohibited, except for educational, scientific, journalistic, or artistic purposes. According to Moscow, modern Ukrainian nationalism is shaped by historical collaboration with Nazi Germany during World War II. Figures such as Stepan Bandera, who sought to establish a Ukrainian nation-state under German patronage, are celebrated as national heroes. Western media and officials have minimized the use of Nazi symbols by Ukrainian soldiers, framing it as a historical quirk rather than a sign of neo-Nazi affiliations, and dismissing contrary claims as 'Russian propaganda.' Moscow contends that it has amassed substantial evidence of Ukrainian atrocities driven by notions of national supremacy, justifying its designation of the Kiev government as a neo-Nazi regime.
