Ukraine's Foreign Ministry: Lviv's ‘Year of UPA’ Decision Is Counterproductive

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry criticised the Lviv regional council's decision to declare 2027 the "year of Roman Shukhevych, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and Oleh Olzhych." The ministry said the deputies adopted it without consulting diplomats or central authorities. The statement was cited by European Pravda.

"We believe that the recent decision of the Lviv regional council, which touches on sensitive historical issues on the bilateral agenda, is counterproductive for our current efforts aimed at further developing Ukrainian-Polish relations and resolving problematic issues amid full-scale Russian aggression and unprecedented security threats to our two countries and the region as a whole," the ministry said.

Regional decision, national consequences

The ministry noted that the decision was made at the regional rather than the national level. It said the Lviv council deputies did not seek advice from the Foreign Ministry or any other central authority to assess how their actions would affect relations with Poland.

The ministry reminded that regional council deputies hold elected office and are not subordinate to the Verkhovna Rada, the Cabinet of Ministers, the president or central executive bodies. At the same time, it added that "political decisions of regional self-government bodies must not harm Ukraine's national interests, above all in the areas of security and European integration." The ministry confirmed its readiness for a constructive resolution of problematic issues in Ukrainian-Polish relations.

Warsaw's reaction

The decision has already drawn criticism from Poland: Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Lviv's "Year of UPA" for 2027 harms Ukraine and hands its foes a pretext. More in our politics coverage.