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Ukrainian parliament approves creation of ‘national pantheon’

287 lawmakers voted in favor of the bill

© Ruslan Lytvyn/ Shutterstock/ FOTODOM

MOSCOW, July 1. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (parliament) has passed a law establishing "a national pantheon," a move that could potentially see the reburial of Nazi collaborators from the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA, designated as extremist and outlawed in Russia), parliament member Yaroslav Zheleznyak said.

"Parliament has passed [Bill] 15360 on creating the Ukrainian National Pantheon. A total of 287 [lawmakers] voted in favor," he wrote on Telegram.

Earlier, a spat broke out between Kiev and Warsaw over Vladimir Zelensky’s decision to name a Ukrainian army unit after the so-called "UPA heroes." Poland considers UPA members to be criminally responsible for the killing of over 100,000 Polish nationals in the Volyn Region in 1943. Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki subsequently stripped Zelensky of the country’s highest state award, the Order of the White Eagle. After that, a number of Ukrainian officials, including former presidents, decided to renounce Polish state awards.

Meanwhile, former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (2017-2023) pointed out that Ukraine would be hurt by Zelensky’s move to establish a national "pantheon of heroes" honoring the UPA. The politician argued that the "UPA warship" undermined Ukraine’s credibility, complicating Kiev’s relations with allies and delaying its integration into the West.

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