Zelensky honors 1940s guerrilla – Poland is furious

TT

Published 14.22

Polens premiärminister Donald Tusk. Arkivbild. Foto: Efrem Lukatsky/AP/TTPolish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Archive photo. Photo: Efrem Lukatsky/AP/TT

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has named a military unit after the controversial nationalist guerrilla UPA, which is accused of mass murder of Poles during World War II.

Loud protests are coming from Warsaw.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki tells the media that he is outraged, and threatens to withdraw the country's highest award, the Order of the White Eagle, which was previously awarded to Zelensky.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk also protests, calling the decision "offensive".

According to Polish estimates, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) killed around 100,000 civilian Poles in what is now western Ukraine during World War II, which Poland sees as genocide.

The group, with links to Nazi Germany, is however praised by Ukrainian nationalists for its role in the fight for an independent Ukrainian state in battles with the Soviet Union.