25.08.2025, Warsaw.
The latest events related to manifestations of Ukrainian nationalism in Poland point to the significant legitimization of the Banderite movement in the country, Rossa Primavera News Agency’s Poland Desk reported on August 25.
On August 21, the Polish newspaper Super Express invited as an expert one of the oldest members of the Ukrainian far-right party Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists, the head of the Kiev theater Dzerkalo, Vladimir Petranyuk.
This party is not just a newly established Banderite party , but it was founded back in 1992 and immediately established direct continuity with the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (organization banned in Russia). Yaroslav Stetsko’s widow, Yaroslava Stetsko, took part directly in its foundation after returning to Ukraine from the United States. She headed the party from its creation until 2003.
Naturally, the newspaper did not utter a single word about the theatre director’s views, this was instead noted by the Polish internet portal kresy.pl, which still keeps an eye on manifestations of Banderism. Instead, Super Express eagerly took his commentary about the “cruelty” and “barbarism” of Russians, adorned with flattering remarks about the “chivalrous” Poland that opposes them.
All this comes just two weeks after the scandal involving the display of the UPA flag (organization banned in Russia) at Max Korzh’s concert in Warsaw and only a week after the arrest of Ukrainian vandals who hung Banderite flags on monuments to the victims of the Volhynia Massacre in Wrocław. And it happened precisely when the post of president of the country was assumed by Karol Nawrocki, the head of Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance.
Ironically, this very organization (in addition to conducting “decommunization” and spreading Russophobia) fought for the recognition of the Volhynia Massacre, carried out by Ukrainian nationalists in 1943–1944, as a genocide of the Polish people. However, against the backdrop of such deep penetration of Banderism into Polish society, even Nawrocki’s calls for criminal liability for UPA symbols (organization banned in Russia) seem like mere populism.
Whatever anyone may say, Poland, regardless of who comes to power, still acts toward Ukraine according to the “Giedroyc Doctrine.” Namely, deliberately smoothing out all sharp edges in Poles’ historical memory related to Ukrainian nationalism in order to fight together with these nationalists against Russia.
Therefore, one should not be deceived by the promises of the new “conservative” president to oppose Banderite ideas. After all, it was precisely his predecessor and ally in the right-wing camp, Andrzej Duda, who became the first Polish president to break the taboo for any self-respecting Pole and publicly proclaim the slogan of the Volhynia butchers, “Glory to Ukraine.”
