Przemyśl suspends partnership with Lviv over UPA year decision

Councillors in the south-eastern Polish city of Przemyśl voted on Monday, 26 October, to suspend cooperation with the Ukrainian city of Lviv. The step answers a decision by the Lviv regional council on 20 October to proclaim 2027 the year of Roman Shukhevych, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and Oleh Olzhych. The dispute deepens a historical disagreement between Poland and Ukraine, as the Polish side links the UPA to crimes against Poles.

The vote and the resolution

Twenty-one councillors backed the resolution; nobody voted against or abstained. According to the Polish news agency PAP, the councillors consider the Lviv regional council's decision an insult to the memory of Poles who were victims of crimes committed by the UPA, and contrary to building relations founded on historical truth and mutual respect.

The document instructs Przemyśl Mayor Wojciech Bakun to take legal steps to terminate the cooperation agreement signed in 1995. The mayor must inform Lviv's authorities of the city's position and give councillors information on the measures taken and the date the agreement will end.

Cooperation would nonetheless be restored if the Lviv regional council definitively repeals or formally withdraws its decision, and Lviv's city authorities unambiguously distance themselves from initiatives that, in the resolution's words, glorify structures responsible for crimes against civilians.

On Facebook, Bakun wrote that after lengthy discussion the councillors unanimously decided to suspend all joint activity until Lviv's authorities clearly state their position on promoting ideologies directed against Poland and Poles.

Earlier developments

The decision drew criticism from Polish officials. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had made clear he would not support further steps by the Lviv regional council on declaring 2027 the year of the UPA and Shukhevych. The city council of Wrocław unanimously condemned the decision, and Kraków's new mayor, Łukasz Gibała, has proposed suspending Kraków's partnership with Lviv.