Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski on glorification of Bandera in Ukraine: For us, it is as if monuments to Himmler stood in Germany

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

He said this at a press conference, commenting on a statement by Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz that "Ukraine will not join the EU with Stepan Bandera," Censor.NET informs.

Analogy with Nazis and Lenin

Arguing the Polish government’s position on blocking Ukraine’s European future if the glorification of OUN leaders continues, Sikorski said Kyiv must choose national heroes who unite rather than divide.

"EU accession means joining a family. For me, one of the differences between Ukraine and Russia is that in Russia, the mass murderer Lenin is still honored, and monuments to him still stand there. In Ukraine, these monuments have been removed. If there were monuments to Himmler or Göring in modern Germany, our attitude toward Germany would be different from what it is. We hope that Ukraine will show us that its heroes are people we can all agree on, not people who will divide us," the diplomat emphasized.

"Diplomacy prefers silence"

Sikorski also refused to disclose details of his meeting with Andrii Sybiha, which ended without joint final statements.

"Allow me to negotiate these issues with Minister Sybiha, not with you. In these relations, there are those who are playing to raise their approval ratings, which is often good for them but bad for Polish-Ukrainian relations, and we are doing patient work," he added.

Scandal over unit named after Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA)

The escalation in Ukrainian-Polish relations erupted after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree on 26 May granting the Separate Special Operations Center "North" of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine the honorary title "named after the Heroes of the UPA." The document stated that the decision had been made to "restore the historical traditions of the national army."
On 29 May, Polish President Karol Nawrocki announced his intention to strip Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest award, which had been presented to him in 2023 by then-Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Former Polish President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lech Wałęsa demonstratively removed the Ukrainian flag pin he had constantly worn in protest and accused Zelenskyy of "honoring UPA bandits," which, he said, "insulted him personally and all murdered Poles."
Former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Poland to Ukraine Bartosz Cichocki officially returned the Order of Merit, which Zelenskyy had awarded him in 2022, over the same decision.
The head of the International Policy Bureau of the Polish President’s Chancellery, Marcin Przydacz, said Volodymyr Zelenskyy should personally call his Polish counterpart Karol Nawrocki and formally apologize for granting the SOF unit the title "named after the Heroes of the UPA."
Later, Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the country’s highest award, the Order of the White Eagle, amid the scandal over the naming of an elite Ukrainian SOF unit after the Heroes of the UPA.