Polish PM says Zelenskyy will not support Lviv Oblast's move to declare 2027 Year of UPA

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said during a press conference as part of his visit to India that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had made it clear he would not support any further steps by Lviv Oblast Council concerning the designation of 2027 as the Year of the UPA and Roman Shukhevych, one of its commanders-in-chief. 

Source: European Pravda, citing Ukrinform;

Details: Tusk said Zelenskyy had signalled that, if the subsequent procedure depended on him, he would not support the initiative in any way. Tusk added that Zelenskyy had been very unhappy about what had happened.

Tusk also said he had made considerable efforts to resolve the "orders crisis" and to explain why decisions of this kind harmed Ukraine's interests and needed to be considered in the context of the two nations' difficult shared history.

He acknowledged the complexity and ambiguity of the history of both countries, while stressing that Ukrainians could not seek any justification regarding the Volyn tragedy and Shukhevych. 

Tusk said he understood all the complexities and wanted Poles to understand that there was considerable ambiguity in both Polish and Ukrainian history. However, he stressed that genocide could not be justified in any way. He warned that Ukraine would face serious difficulties with its integration into the EU if it failed to respect Poland's sensitivities on the issue, adding that Poland was not demanding anything extraordinary in the first place.

Tusk added that he had spent many hours explaining the Polish perspective on the issue to Zelenskyy and had come away with the impression that the Ukrainian president understood it.

Meanwhile, Tusk said he could hardly be held responsible for decisions taken by individual members of Lviv's district or oblast councils. He described the move as resembling a planned provocation by a local nationalist and called it very unwise and unnecessary.

Background:

• On 20 October, Lviv Oblast Council voted to designate 2027 as the Year of Roman Shukhevych, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and Oleh Olzhych. The decision immediately drew criticism from Polish officials. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, in particular, said the move was helping Ukraine's adversaries.
• European Pravda previously reported that Poland had suspended the delivery of a military aid package to Ukraine over Lviv Oblast Council's decision to designate 2027 as the Year of the UPA and Roman Shukhevych. The information was provided by a source in the Ukrainian government.
• Poland's Ministry of National Defence later denied reports that the delivery of a major aid package had been suspended because Lviv Oblast Council had designated 2027 as the Year of the UPA and Roman Shukhevych.

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