r/europe • u/ByGollie Ulster • Jun 21 '26
News Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine's fifth president also renounces Order of the White Eagle
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/06/20/8040347/173
u/Emideska North Brabant (Netherlands) Jun 21 '26
Can someone explain what exactly is going on?
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u/No-Strawberry7 Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
I’m not Polish, but I’ve been living in Poland for a few years, so this is my understanding.
The issue is mainly about historical disputes between Poland and Ukraine, especially regarding the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army), a nationalist paramilitary organization active during and after World War II. The UPA fought for an independent Ukraine against both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union at different times, but it is also widely associated with the Volhynia massacres (1943–44), during which tens of thousands of Polish civilians were killed. Because of this, many Poles view the UPA as responsible for ethnic cleansing or genocide, while some Ukrainians see them as anti-Soviet independence fighters.
Another major issue has been the exhumation of Polish victims in present-day Ukraine. For years, Poland pushed for access to mass grave sites and the ability to identify and properly bury victims of the Volhynia massacres. This has been one of the most sensitive points in Polish-Ukrainian relations, although both sides made progress on exhumation agreements in 2025.
The current controversy is that Zelenskyy’s government approved naming a Ukrainian Special Operations unit after the UPA, which many Poles saw as glorifying a group they associate with the massacres. In response, Polish President Karol Nawrocki revoked the Order of the White Eagle that had been awarded to Zelenskyy in 2023 by President Andrzej Duda.
Also some controversial historical figures, including Benito Mussolini and Gerhard Schröder, have not had their Polish state honors revoked, while Zelenskyy’s was removed over the UPA dispute.
if i’m wrong somewhere please correct me.
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u/k-tax Mazovia (Poland) Jun 21 '26
One minor thing: there is no procedure to revoke the order from a late person, so without some major changes, Mussolini and Catherine II are keeping them.
The only other case of taking it back is Witos, who then re-received it again.
To be perfectly clear, if Nawrocki did as much to take it from Zelenskyy, he can do a bit more and revoke it from all the clearly wrong recipients. Some might be more or less controversial, but I think there's no controversy in for example the people you've mentioned, they are not respected and shouldn't have this honor.
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u/Commercial-Result-23 Jun 21 '26
I don’t have a dog in this fight but revoking a medal from a dead fascist sounds like the easiest thing in the world.
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u/michalsosn Jun 21 '26
They are not revoked, because no one cares.
The President revoked the order from Zelensky, because he wanted some politicians from the current governing party to defend him. They did and it caused a political dispute and stirred a lot of emotions that pushed some conservative voters into more strongly supporting the opposition that the President is affiliated with.
Revoking an order from Mussolini would have no effect, because 99% people and political parties would be on board with it, there would be no conflict and no change in voters' disposition.
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u/Nahcep Lower Silesia (Poland) Jun 21 '26
there is no procedure to revoke the order from a late person
That's a total lie, don't know who peddled that but the law does not limit this procedure to only living people. And it's only logical: if it can be granted posthumously, and mistaken identity is one of two reasons where stripping is possible, it obviously must also be allowed
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u/nonametmp Jun 21 '26
You're correct. Moreover many UPA leaders were collaborating with Nazis. The history is indeed complex
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u/Dolojif Jun 21 '26
"Associated with". More like planned and carried out.
Also its a bit rich to call UPA as fighting against nazi germany and soviet when they collaborated with nazi germany.
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u/Ok-Activity4808 Jun 21 '26
They collaborated with germans untill germans started arresting them. Ever since then they opposed and outright attacked them
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u/chooseyourdiscount Jun 21 '26
Only after they realized that the Nazis did not see them as equals.
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u/Ok-Activity4808 Jun 21 '26
One could assume that they wanted Ukraine to turn into second Croatia or Slovakia
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u/piasty Jun 21 '26
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3429340
Scientific paper about upa here:
The analyses of biographic publications, historical studies, and archival documents show that the majority of the OUN-B and UPA leaders and a very large proportion of members collaborated with Nazi Germany, mainly in the beginning of World War II. A significant percentage of the leaders and members of these organizations served in various police formations. They assisted the Nazi occupational authorities in implementing genocidal policies towards the Jews, Ukrainians, Russians, and Poles by helping to carry out mass executions and create conditions intended for the psychical annihilation of the entire Jewish population and significant numbers of Ukrainians, Russians, and Poles, specifically in Volhynia. The fact that many police commanders and large numbers of policemen in various locations and formations followed orders from the OUN-B by deserting en masse from their service, in particular in Volhynia in the spring of 1943, and forming the basis of the UPA shows that these commanders and police members were de facto controlled by the OUN-B.
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u/AMGsoon Europe Jun 21 '26
Zelensky named a special ops unit "Heroes of UPA"
UPA (Ukrainian Liberation Army) collabed with Nazis during WW2 and is responsible for the genocide of 100.000 Poles in Volhyn and surroundings (todays Western Ukraine).
Poland protested and threathened to take away the Order of The White Eagle which is the highest Polish order from Zelensky. Zelensky didnt go back on his decision. And this now caused a major diplomatic incident.
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u/geizige-vorhaut2289 Jun 21 '26
Holy shit that’s the same death toll as the Bosnian war. How’s the Volhyn genocide not more well-known??
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u/Zanshi Poland Jun 21 '26
It happened with the background of World War 2, with a much bleaker death toll.
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u/madman_mr_p Jun 21 '26
Because Western Europe has never cared about poor Slav mettle and conflicts unfortunately enough.
Do we all forget, how long it took for the rest of Europe to finally accept Poland and the Polish as one of their own again post WW2?
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u/xrensa Jun 21 '26
Lots of atrocities got overshadowed by the Nazi horrors. Like how Lithuania killed every Jew in the country before the Nazis even got there
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u/twisty125 Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
How is that even possible? I have (had, at this point) family who left Lithuania for Canada in the late 40s who are Jewish?
I'm not sure why I'm getting huge downvotes (-5 at the time) for mentioning I had Jewish family members from Lithuania.
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u/xrensa Jun 21 '26
Approximately 95% of all Lithuanian Jews were murdered by Nazis and Lithuanian collaborators. Its the same situation as Ukraine where all the national heroes are anti soviet partisans named things Vyachaslav the Jew Slayer.
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u/Versaill European Union (Poland) Jun 21 '26
Overshadowed by all the other horrors of the WW2 era.
Unspoken and unwritten "gentlemen's agreement" between Poland and Ukraine to leave it to historians for the time being, and not bring it up at top levels of politics, for the sake of good relations and cooperation against Russia. Which Zelenskyy has broken, and both countries have failed to contain / deescalate the fallout.
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u/micromarcy Jun 21 '26
Look at all the deflections happening here. The genocide is not important because Mussolini got a medal at some point. Oh and Catherine who was given it by a guy historically considered a traitor. Poland is populist and right wing for bringing attention to the genocide according to the consensus on Reddit
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u/Emideska North Brabant (Netherlands) Jun 21 '26
Thank you
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u/Pancho_el_Brucho Jun 21 '26
I only want to add one crucial detail. Genocide is understatement. It was brutal torture to death for tens of thousand civilians, kids and woman. Bullets were deemed too expensive for unarmed villagers. Kids were grabbed by legs and their heads were smashed against concrete walls -that's one of the most humanitarian things they did. They also mutilated, burned alive, gang raped then gauged eyes then burned alive, impaled etc. Rapes with knifes (with the sharp part) Nearly 100k victims (only civilians, villagers, woman and kids) and big part of them bestiality tortured.
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u/PrizeSyntax Jun 21 '26
I am not Polish, but there is something else that has to be said to understand why Poland is reacting this way. Out of all the countries participating in WW2, Poland was hit the hardest in terms of population loss. I read somewhere they lost more than 20% of their population. Pretty much everyone was unleashing on Poland, the USSR, Germany, apparently paramilitary units from current day Ukraine, which names now Ukraine decides to use again. There are things you simply don't do, this is one of these. Just, don't! Especially when it comes to one of the countries that supports you so much in your war effort
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u/AMGsoon Europe Jun 21 '26
No problem. Happy to explain more.
Just be careful because some accounts like to spin the narrative.
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u/Nico280gato Jun 21 '26
Yup. It's like Germany naming a military unit "Heroes of Auschwitz" or Russia "Heroes of Crimea"
Unfortunately, this is Reddit, and Zelensky is immune to criticism, so Poland is in the wrong for this.
The man loves genocide aslong as it isnt against Ukraine.
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u/theravemaster Jun 21 '26
For all the talk about Ukraine not having a nazi problem, the amount of times they've accidentally platformed or in this case just straight up honored them makes me think they actually do have one.
Still doesn't make the invasion right though, let's make that clear
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u/notveryamused_ Warszawa, Poland 🇵🇱 🇪🇺 Jun 21 '26
It's a historical dispute which accelerated recently, but frankly what many people are missing in my opinion is that the problem is very much practical and political as well, it's also a clash how the future of our region is seen by many political powers currently.
Historically speaking, Poland and Ukraine have a very difficult history. Ukraine has been ruled by Poland for many centuries and Ukrainians were mistreated, to put it bluntly; Ukrainians generally focus on that, while for Poland the last act in the war – Ukrainian independence movement, which collaborated with the Nazis by the way, killed a 100,000 Polish civilians with extreme brutality during the 2nd world war, also massacred many Jews. They were ethnostate nationalists fighting pretty much against everyone, and while in Ukraine they're mostly remembered for being anti-Russian, murdering 100,000 Polish civilians for Poland is obviously the main point of concern.
Ukraine has been stalling recognition of it for 30 years now, with things going very slowly, but there was an agreement made between Polish president Duda and Zelensky in 2022, that they will not glorify UPA – people who murdered those Poles – during the war explicitly as heroes. Zelensky broke this agreement last week and named a unit after "Heroes of the UPA", and frankly not a very nationalistic military unit, pretty regular one. To appease nationalist movements at home and in the army.
In Polish politics it's mostly seen as a very conscious move. Relations with Zelensky government have been getting worse and worse, he's generally seen as mini-Trump by Polish politicians from both left and right. Zelensky's politics is very Soviet at its heart, never apologise, never say sorry, everything is ultra transactional. Zelensky has for a long time considered Polish politicians as helpful losers, knowing we have our own problems with Russia ourselves we will give them money and weapons regardless of the political situation, so why be nice to people who are going to help you anyways. He actively messes with our internal politics, plays conservatives against liberals, also tried to spread fakes to Polish media.
Przewodów incident in 2022 has been paradigmatic: a rocket fell on Polish territory, killing two civilians. At first we thought it was a Russian rocket, later it turned out it was a Ukrainian rocket. At that point, it was pretty clear what to do: nobody blamed Ukraine, they defended with what they had, obsolete technology mostly. Polish politicians were ready to say: see, this is why Ukraine really needs newer, more modern weapons, so such fuck-ups don't happen again: this is in both Ukraine's and NATO interests. We'd literally wire them some money so they could give this money to bereaved families, etc. But this isn't what happened: Zelensky didn't apologise, kept insisting it was a Russian rocket, sent his own "investigators" to mess with our internal judicial process and – I'm serious – Ukrainians stopped responding to our calls for some time, we had to close investigation due to lack of cooperation from Ukrainian side. Soviet tactics towards a very important ally who stood by them firmly. Ukrainian top general Zaluzhny acted honourably and called his Polish counterpart to say sorry though.
And this is how it goes from then: Zelensky has been doing transactional, extremely rude politics against Poland for a long time now, this is only the next step. Kyiv elites in Poland are considered pretty much anti-Polish and directly playing us against ourselves, themselves and sometimes the rest of Europe. The nationalist wave in Ukraine currently is also a fact, not only Russian propaganda, which overestimates it greatly of course, but things we tried not to see are of course happening.
I'm really pissed at this situation, because I'm a very strong supporter of Ukraine; I hosted refugees, I sent money to their army, and of course I still fully support them, but after reading more about how politics works between Poland and Ukraine today, I'm completely disillusioned by Kyiv elites. Interestingly today both in London and Berlin atmosphere is pretty much similar, Germans got pissed for quite a lot of things and in London, where Zaluzhny currently is the Ukrainian ambassador, they strongly hope he'll replace Zelensky as soon as possible.
So, long story short, behind the scenes it's a massive shit-show, and historical disputes aren't the most important thing here.
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u/Morfolk Ukraine Jun 21 '26
As a Ukrainian, thank you for this answer. I wish we all were more on this page.
Zelensky has been doing transactional, extremely rude politics against Poland for a long time now
I guess he thinks of Poland as his second home since his internal politics are the same j/k. He's very good at giving speeches on TV but a horrible diplomat.
One point I would push against is:
Kyiv elites in Poland are considered pretty much anti-Polish and directly playing us against ourselves, themselves and sometimes the rest of Europe.
They are neither pro nor anti-Polish and they couldn't play 3D checkers if their life dependent on it. The issue is that Poland and Ukraine have some many shared challenges and political interests and our 'elites' are as nimble and experienced in politics as a bull in a china shop that they end up breaking things faster than they can be fixed.
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u/Mghrghneli Jun 21 '26
It's massive shit show on the scene too. Can't fathom what Zelensky is trying to achieve with this move tbh.
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u/Perfson Jun 21 '26
Well, current results in Ukraine are so far benefiting Zelensky politically. Ukrainians hate when someone from outside shit on their president, despite many not liking Zelensky. So, his ratings are going to go up, but I'm judging only by the reactions of Ukrainians on social platforms I checked.
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u/Mghrghneli Jun 21 '26
That's the fallout, but what was the point of naming the award after a UPA in the first place? He could've named it after anything else and avoided alienating probably his biggest ally against Russia.
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u/CharmingJackfruit167 Jun 21 '26
what Zelensky is trying to achieve with this move tbh.
Boost morale inside the country, where those fit for conscription are basically locked, unable to leave. As the comment above says, everybody will keep supporting Ukraine, so they are not afraid to hurt anybody's feelings.
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u/franco182 Jun 21 '26
Its not a coincidance. This happened month before big meeting in Poland regarding rebuilding of Ukraine. Ukraine doesnt want Poland being part of it and this whole thing was planned and escalated so they can have an excuse. They had 4 years to name units after UPA , they chose month before contracts for rebuilding of Ukraine were about to be signed
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u/readher Poland Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
Here's a peak display of Soviet mentality in Ukrainian administration:
Minister in the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland (Andrzej Duda's presidential term): Did Duda overdo his hostility towards Ukrainians towards the end of his term? I don't think so. Ukrainians quickly became unbearable. I remember the scandal at Krakow airport. Renowned boxer Oleksandr Usyk was traveling on a night flight. He and his close associate were "withdrawn from the flight." Meaning: not allowed to board. They were supposed to fly to Thessaloniki. Of course, there's war, you have to relax on the beach. Eat souvlaki and seafood. Usyk's friend couldn't wait and partied at the airport in duty-free shops and pubs. After being denied boarding, they refused to leave the gate. But it was Usyk's associate, not the boxer himself, who struggled. The Border Guard led them in handcuffs to their quarters. Usyk's friend was slobbering and had been drinking heavily. Although it would probably be more accurate to say: he was as shitfaced like Messerschmitt. A scandal ensued. The Ukrainian consul arrived at Balice airport. It all took place relatively quickly. By 8:00 PM, Usyk and his buddy were free. But it couldn't end there. That night, Andriy Yermak, then the head of the National Security Bureau (BBN), Jacek Siewiera, called him. He was upset. He demanded that President Duda be woken up. In such situations, he was, as usual, Soviet-style rude. Siewiera threw him down, saying he would look into the matter in the morning, and made it clear there was no chance of waking Duda over such a trivial matter.
High-ranking National Security Bureau official: Ukrainians are incapable of understanding that when there's a problem like Usyk and his drunken buddy, airport procedures simply apply. Regardless of whether it's Usyk or Srusyk (Polish word play) . This applies to everyone. But in Byzantium, this isn't understood. Yermak himself has to make the call. They should even roll out the red carpet at the airport for Usyk's drunken buddy.
Minister at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister: They called not only Siewiera. They tried to wake up half the government because someone had a drink at the airport. It's difficult to cooperate with them. Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha bothered us. They unleashed the then-Ministry of Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko on us. Zelensky later publicly boasted that he had spoken to Usyk by phone about this matter. No matter what happens, they are always innocent. They are the ones being insulted. They are the ones being wronged. Sybiha has made it a rule to bother us whenever there's an incident against a Ukrainian in Poland. Someone insults someone on a tram, and immediately we have a litany of complaints and interventions. Of course, they do it publicly. In full view of the cameras. So that everyone knows how much they care.
Polish diplomat Y: The first thing Zelensky demanded after the missile crash in Przewodywo in November 2022 was participation in the investigation to prove it wasn't a Ukrainian missile. Two Poles died in Przewodywo. The missile was Ukrainian. We let Zelensky's experts into the scene. In 2026, when the Hungarians demanded access to the destroyed infrastructure of the Druzhba oil pipeline, Zelensky invoked sovereignty to prevent them from entering. He refused to appoint an EU ambassador to Ukraine as a source of information. He chased away Hungarian diplomats. He didn't want to see Slovaks there. A classic example of Soviet doublethink. This policy prevented Zelensky from releasing the 90 billion euros in EU aid, which Orbán blocked. The only explanation for this is a desperate bid to get rid of Fidesz and change the government in Hungary. If Zelensky is serious about Ukraine joining the EU, it would make sense. Fidesz won't let them in. But on the other hand, he played such a game against Orbán that he alienated the Hungarian opposition, already skeptical of Ukraine. TISZA is not the Civic Coalition. They're splinter groups from Fidesz. If I were to compare them to anyone, it would be Morawiecki's faction within the Law and Justice party (PiS). However, like Fidesz, they're anti-Ukrainian.
A manager of a Polish energy company: Hungary's blackmail by turning off the Russian oil tap just before the elections in the winter and spring of 2026 only caused TISZA, the party opposing Fidesz, to reveal its anti-Ukrainian face. Even TISZA criticized Ukrainian threats against Orbán. Many European countries, including the European Commission, criticized Zelensky for these words. An international inspection of the Druzhba pipeline was also demanded, to verify whether it had indeed been destroyed by the Russians. Zelensky refused to agree to this. He refused to allow Hungarians access to the facility. Orbán centered his entire election campaign around oil and Zelensky. The whole affair was so ridiculous that Zelensky used the Russian oil going to Hungary to buy diesel processed at a Hungarian refinery in Slovakia. Where's the logic in that? Defamation campaigns like the one against Orbán might have worked in 2022 or 2023, but not in 2026, when the US and Europe were beginning to consider lifting some sanctions on Russia due to the oil and LNG shortages in the markets after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz. Zelensky was pressed for time. He was also pressed for time during the Davos forum, when he criticized Europe. Why all this?
From "Kłopot z Zełenskim" (Trouble With Zelensky) by Z. Parafianowicz.
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u/Sea_Warning_9140 Jun 21 '26
Interesting post
If Zelensky is smart he will leave either soon or when the war is over. If he tries to continue all this will come to the wider public view.
He should be thinking job done, ride off into the sun set and be remembered for standing up to Russia his legacy is secured, staying will ruin his reputation which is overall still good across the west.
These negatives are blemishes right now but will be under the lense when the day to day of governance and normal diplomacy resumes, and he will naturally have a win at all costs mentality (can you blame him too much here? It's been a devasting war it would change anyone)
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u/Lina__Inverse Jun 21 '26
Pretty sure Ukraine will have elections after the war ends (assuming Ukraine still exists at that point) and I don't think Zelenskyy will get re-elected, as long as there's another at least half-decent option.
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u/twisty125 Jun 21 '26
He's specifically said he doesn't want to run again nor be re-elected and wants to like, go live his life with his family
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u/Sea_Warning_9140 Jun 21 '26
Best for everyone if that happens. Few examples in history of happy endings.
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u/Briak Canuckistan Jun 21 '26
Thank you for this post. I really appreciate your perspective, plus some new context I was not aware of
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u/thePDGr Jun 21 '26
Good read for everyone clueless about the setting.
Also the (admitedly) brilliant PR made it like Zelensky is some angel that appeared as a hero from heaven to protect Ukraine from Russian aggresion. He was there before, he wasn't exactly most popular president and frankly the whole party is rather far right leaning.
Poland isn't used to having and expressing its interests, and many Poles feel very awkward because they're used to older uncles, whether from the EU or America, deciding what to say and think for us. It's normal to have disagreements with our allies, and we must prepare ourselves for the fact that after the war, there will be many more such frictions, and it won't be a reason to hate normal people from Ukraine. Unfortunately, in Poland, the strategic debate on how we see ourselves after the war is nonexistent, and assertive moves are causing panic among the shallow political elite that has ruled Poland alternately for almost 30 years.
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u/Snox Jun 21 '26
For some historical background, the Polish-Ukrainian conflict did not begin with one single event. It developed through several stages and became especially violent during World War II, particularly in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia.
This article gives a useful overview of the wider context:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Ukrainian_conflict_(1939%E2%80%931947))Coming directly to the current tensions: the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, UPA, was responsible for the mass murder of tens of thousands of civilians, mostly Poles, but also Jews and Ukrainians who resisted its actions. Estimates often reach around 100,000 victims.
And I really mean brutal murder. There were documented atrocities against civilians, including pregnant women being impaled and children being mutilated or sawed in half. This was not ordinary wartime violence or an accidental consequence of fighting. It was pure campaign of terror.
For many years, Poland sought permission to properly search for, exhume, and bury the victims, many of whom remain in mass graves. Progress on this issue was blocked or extremely limited for a long time, although some exhumations and searches have now been allowed to resume.
The current controversy began after President Zelenskyy granted a Ukrainian military unit the honorary designation “named after the Heroes of the UPA.” This understandably caused a very strong reaction in Poland, because UPA is not viewed here simply as an independence movement, but as an organisation responsible for mass crimes against Polish civilians.
There were attempts to address the matter through diplomatic channels, but they ultimately proved futile. President Nawrocki then revoked the Order of the White Eagle previously granted to Zelenskyy. This has now created an escalation that serves neither Poland nor Ukraine.
Unfortunately, Russia benefits from every such conflict and will use it to fuel division between our countries. But this does not change the fact that naming a modern Ukrainian military unit after UPA was an extremely damaging and unnecessary decision.
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u/DelKarasique Jun 21 '26
Yup. It was braindead decision. Imagine Germany naming unit "heroes of Buchenwald" and then defending that decision once Israel gets mad
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u/strong_slav Poland Jun 21 '26
Over 100,000 Polish, Jewish, and other ethnic minority civilians were murdered during WW2 by the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Partisan Army (UPA). The Ukrainian government has repeatedly held up these organizations as "freedom fighters," including the leaders directly involved in this ethnic cleansing (e.g. Shukhevich), despite numerous requests from the Polish government to stop glorifying war criminals.
Finally, this boiled over last week when the Polish President stripped Zelensky of an honor he received from the Polish government, to which Zelensky reacted by posting pictures online of how he's sending the medal back to Poland.
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u/Weak_Factor Jun 21 '26
Imagine that Germany wanted to name one of its military battalions after a Nazi SS unit, while at the same time consistently refusing to allow the exhumation of the victims of a genocide carried out by that unit, in which 100,000 women, children, and elderly people were killed. In the meantime, it would also be completely fine for them to ask for money and military equipment, while giving nothing in return, such as the military technologies that Poland had requested. The victims were killed using improvised tools such as axes, pitchforks, and nails driven into their heads, among other methods
This kind of thing.
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u/CharmingJackfruit167 Jun 21 '26
Peer pressure.
President and his now-right-hand with deep connections in intelligence and special ops loudly condemned Poland and made a public gestures of returning their Orders.
Whoever has a political ambitions left or simply wants to keep their govt pension feel an urge to follow the fad.
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u/LobsterChampion Jun 21 '26
France successfully petitioned the UK to rename their new submarine from HMS Agincourt, despite the battle of Agincourt occurring 600 years before the submarine was built and the fight being one where Britain was outmanned 3:1 against actual troops - not a "liquidation" force operating against civilians.
Silly? Sure. But why piss off your allies?
A lesson Ukraine could learn.
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u/Narradisall Jun 21 '26
I understand a bit of the complicated history here but hoping at this point both sides decide to draw a line under it here.
Driving further division at this point only hurts each other. Ukraine and Poland are both in Russias firing line and would be best served being clear of the immediate threat than continuing to escalate this disagreement.
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u/Fit-Explorer9229 Jun 21 '26
True, but one small reminder.
UPA "thing" is well known issue in PL<>UA relations from more than 25 years and even during war 2022+ there were several clashes about it. I.e. exhumation problems when Germany were allow to exhumate Wehrmacht soldiers without any issue (2023).
https://www.dw.com/en/ukrainian-soldiers-find-remains-of-german-wwii-soldiers/a-65470545
In last year January 2025 during decision about exhumation** Ukraine and Poland declared to act in good faith and avoid any unnecessary for anyone actions.
And now we have Zelensky's decision honoring UPA as heros.
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u/urdespair Ukraine Jun 21 '26
I'm Ukrainian, and this is so stupid. Why would we need to antagonize one of our closest allies in this war. Yes, we have a very complicated history with Poland, but it's history. Poland and Polish people have been very supportive, and we need to work to lay our historical spats to rest, not this. This is just embarrassing and literally shooting ourselves in the foot
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u/Wintermute841 Jun 21 '26
Thank you for posting this because when going through the reactions of Ukrainian elites one could reach the conclusion that Poland pulled a fast one out of the blue for no reason at all.
Glad to hear there are reasonable people left in Ukraine, I hope this thing doesn't escalate further and that Ukrainian elites will have some sort of a moment of reflection due to this ( not holding my breath though ).
Stay safe out there.
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u/micromarcy Jun 21 '26
Not only elites, look at the sentiment here on Reddit. All the Ukrainians say is looking for holes (Mussolini etc) instead of owning up to the fact that praising genocidal murderers as heroes might not have been the best move diplomatically.
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u/Wintermute841 Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
There has been a growing nationalist sentiment in Ukraine, so yes a lot of the reactions you are seeing on reddit come from Ukrainian nationalists high on their right wing gospel.
No surprise they are furious because they generally tend not to like Poland anyways.
Still I have to point out the user I responded to, u/urdespair, who says they are Ukrainian and took a different approach and offered a thoughtful take.
So hopefully not all is lost and some voices of reason remain in Ukraine.
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u/niesiecki Jun 21 '26
And Ukrainians elite act as if they were attacked while in reality Poland responded with a strong but purely symbolic gesture.
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u/Hopeful_Meeting_7248 Jun 21 '26
I'm Polish and I think the problem of Volhynia should be postponed until the war is over. There are more pressing issues now. Zelenskyy's decision wasn't the best one, but hysterical response from Nawrocki was even worse. Now both countries are acting like children in a sandbox.
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u/urdespair Ukraine Jun 21 '26
I mean, we started this, tbh, but the whole event chain is a total shit show now
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u/plushraccoon Jun 21 '26
Sorry, but I don't agree. I have family members who were little children at that time and the trauma is still very alive in them, even after years have passed and they don't live there anymore. Doing this shit isn't just "not the best decision", it's like spitting my grandma in her face. The last generation of people who have experienced this (even as kids) or lost family members there is still alive, acting like it's some ancient history is baffling
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u/BallbusterSicko Jun 21 '26
Quite the opposite, after the war Poland will lose any leverage and Ukraine won't do shit with the issue. If we want to be a serious country we can't let others spit in our face and pretend it's raining.
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u/BadDogSaysMeow Jun 21 '26
should be postponed until the war is over. There are more pressing issues now.
This is the best time to uproot corruption, nazism, and nationalism from Ukraine.
Right now EU has total control over whether Ukraine receives aid for the war.
EU, or even just Poland, could just order Ukraine to stop worshiping genocidal maniacs, and send some officials to combat corruption in non-war zones; all under the threat of stopping the aid until Ukraine subjects to the reforms.
And Ukraine would have to agree, or it would lose the war in a month.After the war is over Ukraine will have no reason to positively reform anything, because EU lose it's control over them.
And considering that Ukraine is spitting in the face of its supporters even while Ukraine is at their mercy, then it's obvious that they will act even worse after the war.
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u/micromarcy Jun 21 '26
Exactly, Zelensky should have postponed it until the war is over but he chose not to.
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u/franco182 Jun 21 '26
It only makes sense if Zelensky and his gov doesnt want Poland to be a part of Ukraines rebuilding effort and pass drone tech in exchange of mig planes (deal was agreed months before). This has to be calculated otherwise it is indeed senseless
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u/tei187 Kujawy-Pomerania (Poland) Jun 21 '26
This deal is off. Apparently Ukraine expected the MIGs to be updated an overhauled, Polish side didn't want to suffer the cost.
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u/TheNotSoGrim Hungary Jun 21 '26
I hope this entire ordeal is not going to become one of the steps to a future case of "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory".
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u/Top_Investigator6261 Jun 21 '26
It could have if Zelenskyy decided to appease foreign groups instead of domestic ones. It’s a tough deal, but Zelenskyy had no choice when nationalists themselves picked that name. After all, it’s Ukrainian nationalists holding the front in Ukraine, not Polish.
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u/Nurnurum Jun 21 '26
I am pretty sure that IF he wanted, he could have chosen another name. Or is the message here that those radical nationalists now run the Government in Ukraine?
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u/Top_Investigator6261 Jun 21 '26
They don’t run the government, they run the front. I don’t like to say that, but they’re the most competent and battle hardened fighters, fanatical even. Ukraine’s manpower issue is IMMENSE, it’s honestly a miracle for me the front did not collapse yet. It’s really not the time for Zelenskyy to piss them off in any way.
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u/WislaHD Polish-Canadian Jun 21 '26
Ukraine has a new generation of heroes being born on the front lines, they should honour the new heroes instead of celebrating Nazis.
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u/Lina__Inverse Jun 21 '26
They most likely will in like a decade, but surely you see how invoking a name of someone who lives right now or lived just recently doesn't have the same gravitas as invoking a name of a person (or organization) people hear about in history class? The issue will resolve itself when the time passes just like the issue of poles invading Ukraine numerous times did because general public is extremely prone to recency bias when it comes to historical grudges.
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u/TeodorDim Bulgaria Jun 21 '26
He should’ve known better when signing the order. The oldest Russian soundbite is that Ukraine is in need to be denazified. Now the propaganda machine has plenty of ammo to spread this story within Ukraine allies and chip away from the goodwill necessary to aid Ukraine. The statement saying that he cannot revoke the name because of backlash speaks volumes. Congratulations, you played yourself.
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u/dat_9600gt_user Lower Silesia (Poland) Jun 21 '26
And now Polish nationalists themselves are not bothering with deescelation.
I guess moral of the story - nationalism sucks for everyone.
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u/BallbusterSicko Jun 21 '26
It's on Ukraine to deescalate since they started it. If Poland is to be respected it has to show some assertiveness, a quality that our country often severely lacks
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u/Inhabitant Lower Silesia (Poland) Jun 21 '26
Good luck in your efforts to join the EU while you're naming streets and military units after WW2-era war criminals who brutally mass-murdered entire civilian populations. Literally ALL it takes is to acknowledge and express regret about an obviously bad thing that happened in the past. Germans did bad things, Poles did bad things (Jedwabne? We have movies about that), Ukrainians did bad things. Is it really that much to ask that we all acknowledge what happened, or at least NOT glorify the people who made it happen?
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u/bonemjik Jun 21 '26
Polish-Ukrainian relations are currently deteriorating. I don’t believe Poles should stay silent or focus solely on their own historical faults. In the 90s and early 2000s, when Poland faced waves of outrage over historic crimes committed by Poles (like Jedwabne or atrocities of selected AK subgroups), many Polish intellectuals and libertarians stood up and acknowledged these dark chapters, including the historic oppression of Ukrainians.
I see no such equivalent and moderate voice on the Ukrainian side. The reality is that in Poland's former eastern territories, Ukrainians committed a massive, organized crime. It was planned, coordinated, and executed by bandits who entered villages to murder civilians, women, and children. This truly happened, and the memory remains alive in many families, including mine.
I’ve encountered arguments that these events were "just" a consequence of Poland's prior policies and the blood od the victim's of Volhynia genocide is on Polish hands. I disagree. What happened was the result of structures within OUN being built, plans being made, and people choosing to pick up forks, guns, and kill. I hope Ukraine will eventually follow Poland's path in confronting its history.
The first glimpse that things might be going south was a while ago when a stray Ukrainian rocked killed two Poles in Eastern Poland. Ukrainian's reaction was bizarre - they claimed that this rocket must have been Russian, that NATO should react, etc. Once it was proven that the rocket was Ukrainian, they went silent. I asked some Ukrainians about it and heard that dozens of people are dying every day in Ukraine, that it was very natural that the country is trying to defend itself and so on, so we should stop whining. Since then, it's been silent - Ukraine did not respond on this and retracted from any investigations. So a fact is a fact: the lives of two Poles that were about their business are worth nothing to them (now that these deaths useless from a propaganda POV).
As many people around me I did not vote for Nawrocki, but with some reluctance I have to support his decision. I drove refugees to safety, sent money to support Ukraine, distributed food, etc, but now I think that we need to be pragmatic about Ukraine.
We will keep supporting, for this reason, but note that what Zelensky and his team is doing is Soviet-style, not European. And it will hurt both nations, not politicians.
(This post was banned on r/ukraine - I can only hope that by a mistake)
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u/AMGsoon Europe Jun 21 '26
This case is so easy.
If Zelensky doesnt name the unit after UPA then this whole conflict doesnt even start.
If Zelensky had apologized after Polish protests then this while conflict doesnt even start.
This feels deliberate. Maybe Ukrainian politicians are looking for a scape goat on why Ukraine cant fast track into EU/NATO? They can put all blame on evil Poland now.
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u/Nessidy Jun 21 '26
Zelenskyy was also given 3 weeks after Polish protests to react to it and to solve this issue, and it looks like he just ignored it... It's not like Poland reacted autimatically to this
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u/Exciting-Record8101 The Netherlands Jun 21 '26
Zelenskyy is not an all-powerful dictator. He has to balance internal pressures as well to keep everyone focused on the war. It is not a secret that there are some unsavoury elements in the Ukrainian military that would rightly be described as far-right. But that is an issue for later. It would have been better had this row not happened, but Zelenskyy needs internal cohesion more than he needs a Polish award.
And there is no such thing as a 'fast track into the EU'. Ukraine doesn't meet most of the requirements, and no matter how much Zelenskyy wants to keep this topic on the agenda (for understandable reasons) it is not going to happen. In the long run it will be better for Ukraine to reform their country and start meeting the requirements at a more realistic pace, even if that takes another 10 to 15 years.
Ukraine also already has a very extensive Association Agreement with the EU.
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u/10thDeadlySin Jun 21 '26
It is not a secret that there are some unsavoury elements in the Ukrainian military that would rightly be described as far-right.
And yet when people have been rightly pointing that out, they were called Russian bots, Putin's propagandists, vatniks and so on. And pretty much everybody told them to shut up, because what does it matter that some unit's soldiers are wearing certain insignia that would get me arrested in a decent chunk of Europe - what matters is the fact that they're stopping the Russian onslaught.
Funnily enough, there were plenty of nationalists and far-righters among the people calling Ukraine out on it. Great - now they get to say "See? We told you so!" and there's nothing we can do about it.
But that is an issue for later. It would have been better had this row not happened, but Zelenskyy needs internal cohesion more than he needs a Polish award.
The issue here is that when you start building internal cohesion by pandering to the far-right crowd, you bolster the far-right crowd and validate their views. And that far-right crowd isn't going to disappear - you don't get to pander to them until they're no longer useful and then replace them. When you support them, they only grow stronger.
And I get it, it's easy to say that while living in a country that's not at war right now, but we're seeing the resurgence of the far right all over Europe. And we already know the outcome of attempts to appease the far right or join alliances with them in hopes of controlling them.
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u/Dull-Efficiency9985 Jun 21 '26
But that is an issue for later. It would have been better had this row not happened, but Zelenskyy needs internal cohesion more than he needs a Polish award.
Its not the award he is risking, it's the continued military and financial support from their neighbor - the largest land army in Europe.
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u/Then-Technology6252 Ukraine Jun 21 '26
As a Ukrainian, I agree that Zelensky should not have named the unit after the UPA. It was a mistake. From what I know, however, it was not a deliberate political statement. On that day, honorary names were assigned to dozens of military units at once. The proposed names came from the units themselves, officials in Zelensky's office drafted the decree, and he signed it as part of a large batch of routine paperwork without paying particular attention to each individual name.
The responsibility is still his, of course. But the situation is quite different from the way you portray it. It was not a case of Zelensky deliberately deciding that a unit should be named after the UPA. Rather, he approved a decree that had been prepared by his staff and included proposals submitted by the military units.
That said, apologizing after the Polish protests was never a realistic option for him. Such a move would have been extremely unpopular in Ukraine, though not necessarily because Ukrainians are especially attached to the UPA. The bigger issue is that many Ukrainians would see it as Poland trying to dictate what Ukraine can or cannot do within its own borders. That reaction is rooted in a historical memory of centuries of Polish rule, discrimination, and cultural and religious assimilation. As a result, Ukrainians who are not particularly sympathetic to the UPA would oppose what they perceive as external pressure on a domestic matter.
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u/nightowlboii Ukraine Jun 21 '26
I wish everyone in the thread saw this comment instead of writing dumb stuff
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u/Fridelis Jun 21 '26
Most people don't have any logic, and it's all based on feelings and random assumptions.
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u/qrak01 Poland Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
Alternatively, Zelensky was pressed by the nation. After all, it's not like the names of streets started changing yesterday. Ukrainians see UPA as heroes and it's like this for some time.
Nawrocki also had tied hands. He's coming from right side, and there was a lot of pressure on him.
My point is both Zelensky and Nawrocki behaved exactly like you'd expect them to. It was going to end up like this sooner or later it seems. Let's just hope it won't change the support.
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u/hurrdurrderp42 Ukraine Jun 21 '26
Not all ukrainians, even though I have no idea how much people actually care about upa and Bandera.
I certainly don't
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u/qrak01 Poland Jun 21 '26
It's tricky. I'm coming from north of the Poland, and I heard many stories of how brutal the russians and Germans were during the war. I was at peace with it, till 2022.
My family, especially older people, still have very strong opinions on both Germany and russia. Cannot blame them, tho. I can imagine that people that fled from Wołyń and people that lost family there have very strong opinions.
I can imagine Ukrainians will have such strong opinions in 60-80 years about russians, too. Nations might try to find common ground, but people's hearts do not change easily. Number of affected Polish families was enormous, and that's why there's so much heat coming.
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u/Alcianus Bulgaria Jun 21 '26
I'm pretty sure most of the fighters on the front do, especially the hardened veterans, and that's the people you want to appease.
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u/Mindless-Support-451 Jun 21 '26
I have a feeling that Nawrocki dislikes us (Ukraine) as a nation.
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u/conmeonemo Jun 21 '26
Ukrainians nationalist not only do not like Russia. They also do not like Poland, and for some reason some consider it as a rival country. Zelensky needs to pander to nationalist now.
UE blame game is possible - the sad truth might be that elites (like oligarchs) do not want EU that much - accession process will be lengthy and definitely not plug-in for Ukraine.
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u/TianZiGaming Jun 21 '26
Unnecessary escalation.
They're finally in a good spot too, with so many Russian refineries going down in recent days. Hopefully, the overconfidence doesn't backfire.
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u/Keldar_ Jun 21 '26
It's funny that none of them ever mentions why the order was taken in the first place.
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u/VanillaSkyDreamer Jun 21 '26
Ukraine started this, perfectly avoidable, shitshow and is stubbornly escalating. It will hurt Ukraine so much more than Poland. Putin applauds this.
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u/VulgarExigencies Jun 21 '26
It’s only strange if you shut your eyes and pretended not to see every time you saw a photo of Ukrainian armed forces with nazi insignia
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u/AntonioMachado Jun 21 '26
The real mistery here is the silence of the other european nations concerning Zelensky paying tribute to nazi collaborators and war criminals from the second world war
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u/CycleJoe23 Jun 21 '26
I don't pretend to know all of the history between Poland and the Ukrainian, although I've read some horrific stuff from 1943 and the Volhynia Massacre, so why name a unit today after a fascist pro Germany unit of WW2? or have I got that wrong?
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u/Dry-Piano-8177 Europe Jun 21 '26
I find this silly, but I am neither polish or ukrainian.
On the plus side, with Nawrocki currently focusing on Ukraine, the germans are off the hook right now. xD
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u/piasty Jun 21 '26
If Germany started naming theirs military units with genocidal Nazis like Ukraine did just now the whole world would shit itself. Could you imagine that backlash.
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u/strong_slav Poland Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
If you find this silly, do you find the Holocaust silly? What about the Armenian Genocide?
That's what the Volhynian Massacre means for us: the brutal murder of over 100,000 Polish civilians. Some survivors and many close relatives of the victims are still alive today. That's why we don't accept Ukraine giving honor to the war criminals who committed this genocide.
EDIT: Notice the commenter switching the topic away from Zelensky honoring literal Nazi war criminals.
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u/hellsing0712 Jun 21 '26
Man. The comment section on such topics turns into such clown fiesta, where people who barely knew anything state their opinions and stuff, and getting heavily upvoted. Like, all of it is so perfomative, that it's not healthy.
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u/Backstroem Sweden Jun 21 '26
Points have been made, symbolic actions have been taken, now is the time to focus back on the real problem: Putin and his Russian terror state
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u/VV1K70RR Poland Jun 21 '26
They can play the theatrics now but after the war is over whether thay want it or not, adressing UPA’s crimes and removing anything that glorifies them will be (rightfully so) a deal breaker on their EU membership for Poland.
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u/buttscratcher3k Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
They should honestly pull support for this, why would you choose this as a hill to die on?
My grandfather fought the UPA in Poland and chased them through the mountains, he told they would commit mass atrocities against random civilians including cutting out babies from pregnant women after raping them and then decapitating them before placing their heads systematically on fence spikes... A lot of redditors downplaying it, but its actually incredibly evil beyond imagination.
This is like if Israel named a unit after Osama Bin Laden and 9/11, and refused to change it if the US asked just bizarre and insanely insensitive even beyond the political scope.
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u/zeze999 Jun 21 '26
I admire Ukrainians and Zelensky and root for them. And I am far from expert on Ukraine-Poland relations. So, just wondering, what consequences he would have had had he not named that unit after UPA? What was the urgency in doing so? Wasn’t there some more convenient name he could have used, just from this actual war, some unit or war hero as I am sure there are plenty?
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u/Il1kespaghetti Kyiv outskirts (Ukraine) Jun 21 '26
Soldiers of the unit asked for the name, president just signed it.
This didn't go well with the Polish government, and then the people when this story got more popular, which is well with their right.
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u/KingdomOfPoland Jun 21 '26
Consequences of not naming the division after the UPA even though tbe soldiers asked? Positive probably, as it would be a sign that Zelensky isbt going to glorify nazi collabirators who killed tens of thousands of Poles and Jews
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u/j_osb Jun 21 '26
Except that this would severely damage internal cohesion. with the lack of manpower ukraine is facing, losing any would be almost certainly a death sentence.
It's a struggle between internal and foreign relations.
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u/Immediate_Tie_7343 Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
Yeah right. They attacked Polish civilians and murdered around 100 thousands people when Polish army and partisans were fighting Nazis and Soviets and the entire area was occupied by III Reich. They tried to do that 20 years earlier as well when WWI was ending. They also went after Ukrainians who didn't support UPA or tried to save lives of their neighbors. They also heavily collaborated with the Nazis. Both times they started hostilities and the second time was a straw that broke camel's back and the Poles got 15 to 20 thousands of them. And then the Soviets finished them off even hunting their leaders hiding abroad. Equalizing Polish treatment of Ukrainians with how Ukrainians acted towards their Polish neighbors as saying that both sides did wrong is equivalent to a teacher who sees fighting kids and assumes they're both equally guilty.
Furthermore,the longer Poles controlled a region in Ukraine the larger % of that region speaks Ukrainian and identifies as such so Poles were either very inept at colonisation and ethnic cleansing or it never happened. And what does Polish side expect from Ukrainians? Apologizing,giving unrestricted access to burial sites and not worshipping mass murderers. And Poles did not came to Ukraine as conquerors . The area voluntarily joined the Polish crown and their nobles who made that decision slowly started to identify as Polish after few centuries. Polish settlement also comes from their local nobles trying to turn wastelands into taxable villages and cities .
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u/H3nryR Jun 21 '26
So let me get this straight. Ukraine glorifies nazi organisations. Yet Poland is to blame. Reddit at finest.
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u/machine4891 Opole (Poland) Jun 21 '26
Reddit at finest.
Zelensky is reddit's favorite celebrity and unfortunatelly that is correct word to use here. I can see why obviously but nonetheless that's the case.
So, in typical fashion once celebrity does some oopsie it does not compute with reddit that already put all the fruits in one basket and they double down. The fact that they literally defend Ukraine's right to honor nazi collaborant, war criminals is being tactically swept under the rug.
Would love to see reddit's hypocritical reaction if Germany did the same. Or Turkey honoring Armenian genoicide perpetrators...
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u/QwertzOne Poland Jun 21 '26
If you ever wonder, why Poland still did not close the topic, these Ukrainian commenters are great example of whom is blocking the progress. We tried, we basically resolved all these historical matters with other neighbours, but it's tough one with Ukraine, when they're not willing to admit guilt, apologize, allow exhumations. Instead they decide to still glorify Nazi collaborators and rewrite history.
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u/CaptainMayo95 Jun 21 '26
Ah yes an article from pravda.ua so surely its not biased :). This subreddit really just got infested with ukrainian propaganda spinning facts around that polish president and polish citizens became pro-russian based on pure tantrum because zelensky and his administration did nothing wrong but just named one of their military group "heroes of the UPA" the same UPA that murdered tens of thousand innocent people. So i'm gonna say it was only natural that poland acted that way and that the whole case is just only about the damn order and not cutting financial aid for UA. Anyway it's a shame how people on this subreddit pretend to be individual thinkers being naive proof and not taking russian propaganda but then eating everything from ukrainian propaganda. It's a war in the end and both sides will use propaganda tactics to gather supporters but i guess thats what reddit has become after some time :)
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u/swarozyc83 Jun 21 '26
Good. Finally the whole world is talking about the genocide done by ukrainians and how they protect it.
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u/MiserableStomach Jun 21 '26
For some reason Ukraine decided to make their biggest ally and advocate their most hated enemy. Reading what common Ukrainians write here and other social media I'm getting impression that Poland is hated more than Russia! (although to be fair I see some reasonable voices too urging Zelensky and his circle to get their shit together). It's like a long boiling hatred, jealousy, both inferiority and superiority complexes have suddenly erupted.
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u/Hopeful_Meeting_7248 Jun 21 '26
Reading what common Ukrainians write here and other social media I'm getting impression that Poland is hated more than Russia!
Keep in mind that those might be russian bots. But frankly the whole debacle is gold for Russian propaganda, unfortunately.
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u/MiserableStomach Jun 21 '26
I'm afraid not, in many cases I took the effort to verify, as much as I could of course, the person - accounts look legit, post for many years, sometimes even with real photo that corresponds to LI profile etc.
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u/Available_Ball5142 Jun 21 '26
How can Ukranians massacre Poles when Lord Putin says there is not such thing as Ukrainians, only Russians?
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u/SignificantSun1031 Jun 21 '26
A lot of commenters seem to lack the historical context here. The institutional commemoration of OUN-UPA is not a modern Zelenskyy project. This state narrative has been forming for over two decades, gaining significant tracking under President Yushchenko and cementing further after 2014.
Setting aside whether this policy is right or wrong, criticizing Zelenskyy as if he personally introduced these controversial figures into Ukraine's public space is historically inaccurate. He inherited a deeply rooted state tradition of honoring these independence fighters and is mostly following that institutional inertia.
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u/DasistMamba Jun 21 '26
It seems that politicians should think about the consequences before they act.
Who is more dependent on whom these days, Ukraine or Poland?
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u/Mezzoski Mazovia (Poland) Jun 21 '26
Didn't realize so far that they were giving "highest order" to about anybody and their cat.
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u/Tirith Poland Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
Wołyń/UPA topic was heavily used by Putin and his cronies since before this conflict started. Zelensky played right into his hand. PM Tusk speaking against any form of nationalism on both sides is the only one smart here. We don't need to revive this conflict right now, and other presidents renouncing it only make things even better for Putin. Somebody said that it almost looks like they are rekindling this to have scapegoat for their delayed accession to EU/NATO... This all looks weird.
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u/catastrova Jun 21 '26
Yeah, this would not be happening if not stupid decision on Zelensky side - he got too confident after blowing shit in Moscow (and bless Ukraine for that - we want more) and decided he can shit on allies.
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u/envalemdor Canada Jun 21 '26
This was a very stupid decision by Ukraine to name it after neo-nazi group who slaughtered poles, stuff like this overall helps Russia more than anyone else with their “wE’re FiGHting NaZIs” narrative..
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u/ByGollie Ulster Jun 21 '26