Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski on the glorification of Bandera in Ukraine: For us, it’s as if there were monuments to Himmler in Germany

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski likened the glorification of Stepan Bandera in Ukraine to the erection of monuments to Nazi leaders Heinrich Himmler or Hermann Goering in modern Germany.

He stated this at a press conference, commenting on the statement of Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz that “Ukraine will not join the EU with Stepan Bandera,” Censor.NET reports .

Analogy with Nazis and Lenin

Arguing the Polish government’s position on blocking Ukraine’s European future if the heroization of OUN leaders continues, Sikorsky stated that Kyiv should choose national heroes who unite, not divide.

” Joining the EU is joining a family. For me, one of the differences between Ukraine and Russia is that in Russia they still honor the mass murderer Lenin, and there are monuments to him there. In Ukraine, these monuments have been removed. If modern Germany had monuments to Himmler or Goering, our attitude towards Germany would be different than it is. We hope that Ukraine will show us that its heroes are people with whom we can all agree, not people who will divide us ,” the diplomat emphasized.

“Diplomacy Prefers Silence”

Sikorsky also refused to disclose details of the meeting with Andriy Sybiga, which ended without joint final statements.

” Let me negotiate these issues with Minister Szybiga, not with you. In these relations, there are those who play to increase their approval ratings, which is often good for them, but bad for Polish-Ukrainian relations, and we are engaged in patient work ,” he added.

Scandal with the UPA Heroes Unit

The aggravation of Ukrainian-Polish relations erupted after President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on May 26 to award the Separate Center for Special Operations “North” of the Special Operations Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine the honorary title “named after the Heroes of the UPA.” The text of the document noted that the decision was made with the aim of “restoring the historical traditions of the national army.”
On May 29, Polish President Karol Nawrocki announced his intention to strip Volodymyr Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest award, which was presented to him in 2023 by then-Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Former Polish President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lech Walesa, in protest, demonstratively removed the badge with the Ukrainian flag that he constantly wore, and accused Zelensky of “honoring the UPA bandits,” which, according to him, “offended him personally and all the murdered Poles.”
Former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Poland to Ukraine Bartosz Cichocki officially returned the Order of Merit, which Zelensky awarded him in 2022, due to the same decision .
Marcin Przydach, head of the International Policy Bureau of the Office of the President of Poland, said that Volodymyr Zelensky should personally call his Polish colleague Karol Nawrocki and officially apologize for giving the SSO unit “the name of the Heroes of the UPA.”
Subsequently, Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of the country’s highest award, the Order of the White Eagle, amid a scandal over the awarding of the title of Heroes of the UPA to the elite unit of the Ukrainian Special Forces. Джерело: https://censor.net/ua/n4011679