The Europarliament supported Ukraineʼs path to the EU in a resolution. But “expressed regret” over the renaming of a unit of the AFU in honor of the heroes of UPA

On July 8, the European Parliament supported a resolution on Ukraineʼs progress on its path to the European Union, but separately mentioned President Volodymyr Zelenskyʼs decision to name a unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) "named after the Heroes of UPA".

This was reported by the press service of the European Parliament.

The document was supported by 460 MEPs, 136 voted against, and 59 abstained. The resolution welcomed the opening of the first cluster of negotiations on Ukraineʼs accession to the EU and expressed hope that the next negotiation clusters would open in the near future.

The European Parliament noted that even in the face of a full-scale war, Ukraine continues to strengthen democratic institutions, reform the judicial system and fight corruption. At the same time, the deputies stressed that these reforms must be continued, as they are key to Ukraineʼs accession to the EU, its reconstruction and attracting international investors.

In addition, the document raised the issue of Ukrainian-Polish relations. The MEPs "expressed regret" that, in their opinion, "the feelings and grief of the Polish side were not taken into account" when renaming a military unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in honor of the heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).

They believe that this decision could harm good-neighborly relations between Poland and Ukraine. The European Parliament called on both countries to de-escalate and continue dialogue for the sake of reconciliation.

Deterioration of relations between Ukraine and Poland

On May 26, Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree awarding 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 UPA". The document states that this was done "to restore the historical traditions of the national army".

This decision by the Ukrainian president caused outrage among Poles. And on June 19, incumbent President Karol Nawrocki stripped Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle, Polandʼs highest state award, which he had been awarded by former Polish President Andrzej Duda. Zelensky later sent his order to Poland via “Nova Post”.

After that, three former Ukrainian presidents: Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Yushchenko, and Petro Poroshenko, as well as other Ukrainian high-ranking officials, refused the order. In addition, former deputy of the Polish Sejm Piotr Vogler refused the Golden Cross of Merit.

At the same time, Polish politicians began to refuse Ukrainian state awards. In particular, this decision was reported by former Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak and former Polish Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński.

And former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki “as a sign of protest” transferred the Ukrainian Order of Yaroslav the Wise to the Museum of Memory of the Victims of the Volyn Tragedy in Chelm, Poland.

On July 3, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, at a meeting with his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski, offered Poland a "package of anti-crisis steps" to regulate relations between the countries. These include consultations between the foreign ministries, a meeting of historians studying World War II, and the involvement of religious leaders of the countries in the dialogue.

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