Published 08/07/2026 – 13:27 GMT+2•Updated 15:58
The European Parliament on Wednesday approved an amendment criticizing Vladimir Zelensky’s decision to rename an elite Ukrainian military unit after the World War II-era Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). The move sparked a diplomatic dispute with Poland.
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The vast majority of MEPs voted in favor of the amendment, which deplored the Ukrainian president’s “recent unnecessary and unprovoked escalation” while recalling Ukraine’s strong support for Poland in its fight against the Russian invasion.
It was presented by Polish Member of the European Parliament from the European People’s Party Andrzej Galitsky together with his German colleague Michael Gahler and included in a report assessing Ukraine’s path to EU membership.
In Ukraine, the UPA is widely known for its role in opposing Soviet power and the struggle for the independence of Ukraine.
But in Poland it is widely associated with the Volyn massacre of 1943–45, during which tens of thousands of Poles were killed under Nazi occupation. Poland recognized the massacre as genocide, but Ukraine rejected the label.
In response to Zelensky’s decision, Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped the Ukrainian President of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest state award, which he was awarded in 2023.
The diplomatic dispute affected the last conference on the restoration of Ukraine in Gdansk, at which Zelensky was replaced by Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko. It could also affect public support in Poland for Ukraine’s EU membership proposal: 60% of Polish citizens oppose it, according to a recent poll.
Zelensky recently acknowledged that there are “some internal issues” between Ukraine and Poland related to “difficulties in our history,” calling on both sides to close ranks against Russia and live more “in the future than in the past.”
Widespread support for conviction in parliament
The parliament’s text regrets what it calls “the disregard for Polish feelings and grief associated with the estimated tens of thousands of UPA victims and their families” in Zelensky’s decision.
MEPs also believe that Zelensky’s decision “undermines good neighborly relations” and “does not correspond to European values,” calling for de-escalation and reconciliation between Kiev and Warsaw.
“(This is) a very strong signal, this is a warning to the Ukrainian authorities not to cause bad emotions and not to act against European values,” MEP Galitsky told Euronews after the vote. “They should think about how to become part of our Union. If they want to be (part of it), they must respect the general rules,” he said.
Despite the amendment on the military unit of the UPA, the parliament’s resolution confirms Ukraine’s support in the fight against Russian aggression and recognizes the country’s progress towards joining the EU.
Lawmakers stated that “Ukraine’s future is in the EU” and recognized Ukraine’s European integration as “a strategic priority for the Union.”