Decision on the "Year of the UPA" has not yet entered into force: Head of Lviv Regional State Administration answered the Polish Voivodeship

The decision of the Lviv Regional Council to proclaim 2027 the year of the UPA, Roman Shukhevych and Oleh Olzhych has still not been signed and has not entered into force. Head of Lviv Regional State Administration Maksym Kozytskyi stated this in a letter to Marshal of the Silesian Voivodeship Wojciech Saługa. The answer of the Ukrainian official was made public by the voivodeship authorities on 28 October.

Saługa earlier called for the decision to be reviewed, saying that it harms relations between Poland and Ukraine. In his reply, Kozytskyi stressed the need to take into account Ukraine's foreign policy interests and keep good-neighbourly relations with Poland.

The head of the Regional State Administration did not make this decision: the regional council is a separate local self-government body. As explained in Lviv Regional State Administration, for the document to enter into force, it must be signed by acting head of the regional council Yurii Kholod.

The deputies voted for the decision on 20 October. It drew criticism from Polish officials; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine also called the initiative counterproductive for relations with Poland. Because of the controversy, the Polish city of Przemyśl suspended cooperation with Lviv, and the Lublin Voivodeship decided to break off partnership with Lviv Oblast.

As reported by "Kurs Ukrainy", Deputy Foreign Minister of Poland Marcin Bosacki said that he had received assurances from the team of the President of Ukraine that the decision would not be allowed to enter into force. At that time, the Ukrainian side had not publicly confirmed those assurances.

Kozytskyi's current letter clarifies the present status of the resolution. It does not contain a notice of its cancellation or final withdrawal by the Lviv Regional Council.

The activities of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and its military wing, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, remain one of the most controversial topics in Polish–Ukrainian relations. According to Polish historians, in 1943 UPA troops carried out coordinated attacks on Volhynian settlements inhabited by Poles. In Poland these crimes are called the Volhynia genocide. In Ukrainian historical memory, the UPA and OUN are often presented as symbols of the fight for independence and resistance to the Soviet Union.

Based on materials from: PAP, Silesian Voivodeship authorities, Suspilne