Poland reported to pause military aid package to Kyiv over Lviv council's 'Year of UPA'

Poland has suspended the delivery of a large military aid package to Ukraine after the Lviv regional council decided to declare 2027 the year of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), according to reports published on 21 October. RIA Novosti cited a Telegram post by the TSN television channel, and Meduza cited a source of RBC-Ukraine. RIA Novosti described the halt as temporary. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]

Meduza wrote that deputies of the Lviv regional council adopted the decision at a plenary session on 20 October, declaring 2027 the year of UPA, its commander Roman Shukhevych and the political figure Oleh Olzhych. The source told RBC-Ukraine that Lviv authorities held the vote just as Poland was preparing to send a big package of military aid. 'Because of their irresponsible actions the deliveries of this package are now suspended,' the source said, adding that work was under way through closed channels to settle the problem. TSN, as cited by RIA Novosti, likewise said the decision was taken while the cargo was being prepared for dispatch. [ 1 , 4 ]

Meduza reported that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the council's decision 'unreasonable' and said it 'harms Ukraine'. Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz called it unacceptable, said it 'deepens the divide' between the peoples and added that Ukraine's authorities must distance themselves from this position. Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Bosacki said Poland had received assurances from Ukraine that the decision would not take effect, and that the resolution disappeared from the council's website after Poland intervened. Meduza added that the council's Facebook post announcing the year of UPA is no longer available. [ 4 ]

RIA Novosti noted that the question of how to interpret the mass killing of Poles by Ukrainian nationalists in Volhynia and neighbouring regions has complicated relations between Warsaw and Kyiv for many years, and that Poland recognised the Volhynia massacre of 1943-1945 as genocide. Meduza wrote that, by various estimates, 30,000 to 60,000 Poles died in 1943-1944. Both outlets recalled a spring 2026 dispute in which Volodymyr Zelensky gave the name 'Heroes of UPA' to a unit of Ukraine's armed forces; Meduza identified it as the 'North' Special Operations Centre and said the decision drew sharp criticism in Poland. RIA Novosti added that Zelensky took part in the reburial of the remains of one of the UPA leaders and was stripped of Poland's Order of the White Eagle. [ 1 , 4 ]