BERLIN, October 15. /TASS/. Ukrainian historian Marta Gavrishko believes that Kiev and its Western allies are attempting to sidestep the issue of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists' (OUN, recognized as extremist and banned in Russia) collaboration with Nazi Germany during World War II.
"Today, Ukraine justifies the symbols of Nazi collaborators," Marta Gavrishko said in an interview with Berliner Zeitung. She pointed out that the collaboration of OUN-UPA (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists - Ukrainian Insurgent Army, banned in Russia) leaders with the Wehrmacht is being "silenced, even within modern Ukrainian historical scholarship." "It is not [Russian President] Vladimir Putin or [Russian journalist] Vladimir Solovyov who are renaming streets and squares across Ukraine after [OUN-UPA leaders] Melnik, Bandera, or Shukhevich," the historian emphasized.
Gavrishko pointed out that the appeal to its own history is taking grotesque forms in her country. "On the one hand, President Vladimir Zelensky visits the Menorah memorial on every anniversary of the Babi Yar massacre. Virtually at the same time, units of the Ukrainian armed forces heroize Nazis, such as the SS Galicia Division," she said.
"The West will still have to confront the illiberal tendencies that are growing stronger in Ukraine with each passing year of war," she warned, noting that relations between Ukraine and Poland are already strained due to differing assessments of the Volhynia massacre. Berliner Zeitung reported that in Ukraine, Gavrishko is often labeled a "Kremlin agent" and a "traitor" for her views and criticism of Kiev's efforts to silence discussions about Nazism, and there have even been calls for "measures" to be taken against her. She has received death threats due to her stance. As a result, Gavrishko decided to leave the country and now resides in the US.