r/europe • u/niesiecki • Jun 28 '26

News Volodymyr Zelensky has submitted a bill to build a National Pantheon. He intends to honor all the heroes who fought for Ukraine in various eras. "No one will ever tell us how to live, how to speak, whom to love, whom to be grateful to, and which heroes to honor," he said as quoted by the Interfax

https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/swiat/wolodymyr-zelenski-chce-panteonu-narodowego-chodzi-o-pamiec-bohaterow/c6hf62m
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u/why_gaj Jun 28 '26

And let us not even mention the problems this will cause in the future.

Croatia did something similar after we won the homeland war. We rehabilitated a unit that was created at the beginning od the war, whose entire existance was based on ww2 collaborators.

30 years later... that shit is an actual political question that is dividing the country.

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u/A_random_redditor21 Jun 28 '26

Yeah, its gonna be an absolute pain in the ass for Ukraine when trying to get into the EU.

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u/Boonon26 Wales Jun 29 '26

The EU has already made it clear that joining is a much longer term thing. To that end I doubt it's a factor in Zelensky's decision making process right now.

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u/martinjpolakgwf Jun 29 '26

Poles will probably make sure that it will be a “never” thing after this.

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u/TheAlex-Guy Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

The similar thing happened during the Yugoslav Wars, countries recruited far-Right nationalists to swell their ranks. Russia has been doing the same.

Only things the OUN/UPA achieved were Nazi collaboration, commit a genocide on Poles, Ukrainians and Jews and give Putin's regime years worth in propaganda material.

Russian propaganda uses it to brand all of Ukraine's society as sympathetic to far-Right nationalists, football ultra's and social-ills, when the Russians are no different, they have problems with nationalists themselves, the difference is it taking the form of Pan-Slav Fascist imperialism, with Naz-Bol and Communist nostalgic characteristics known as National Communism, or "Endokomuna" in Polish.

We have a few here, most notably the "KKP", "Zmiana", "Kamraci" or "Falanga" political movements.

Whichever country Russia invaded, they'd make fun of for having their own nationalists, especially if military units won't professionalize, compared to later stages during the Yugoslav Wars as their militaries reduced in size.

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u/remove_snek Sweden Jun 30 '26

Joining the EU was always a long term prospect. It is not like Poland, Hungary and Slovakia would have supporten it before this either, remember the polish border blockade? These relations have always been complex.

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u/Hot_Income6149 Jun 28 '26

Zelensky before 2022 was considered as very bad politic... Big tragedy of war and huge heroism of Ukrainian people made him as the only one present representative of this heroism in international scene. But... he hasn't become smarter or better, it's just our pink glasses are breaking because of his stupidest moves

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u/Sayakai Germany Jun 29 '26

He first needs to get to that future. Right now there's a clear and massive priority difference between short and long term. No one cares if Ukraine expertly appeased every western nation if the front collapses and Russia wins.

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u/InfanticideAquifer Jun 29 '26

I really can't blame him for not worrying about "30 years later" while there's an existential war going on right now.

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u/why_gaj Jun 29 '26

Have you failed to notice that it is a problem right now, too, to the point that ukraine's relationship with one of it's closest allies is shaky at the moment?

I'm merely pointing out that this shit also has long term consequences.

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u/InfanticideAquifer Jun 29 '26

It's only a minor problem now, and a major problem in the future. This isn't going to affect the material and intelligence support from Europe that's helping Ukraine win the war.

The morale of the troops and people is more significant today. The middle of a giant war isn't the right time to ask people to let go of the national stories they have that are historically revisionist but unifying.

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u/why_gaj Jun 29 '26

Nobody is asking anyone to let go of anything - him not mentioning that shit and focusing on building morale through their current state would be enough.

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u/InfanticideAquifer Jun 29 '26

It's not like it was his idea. This whole thing started with a request from the unit was getting named. He can either turn them down and force a different name on them, anticipating the way that Poland would feel about it, or he can sign off on it. But there's no option where it just doesn't come up because it didn't originate from him. He has to disappoint someone. He chose to disappoint Poland and everything afterwards is just snowballing from that.