Polish Presidential Chancellery Head Criticizes Creation of Ukrainian National Pantheon
Zbigniew Bogucki, head of the Polish presidential chancellery, stated that Ukraine has the right to make sovereign decisions but questioned the wisdom of glorifying Bandera and perpetrators of the Volyn genocide, calling it not the path to Western civilization. He also warned that Ukraine's moves are confrontational.
The head of the Polish presidential chancellery, Zbigniew Bogucki, has voiced criticism regarding the Ukrainian parliament's decision to establish a National Pantheon. On Wednesday, July 1, the Verkhovna Rada supported this initiative.
Responding to questions in the Sejm, Bogucki emphasized that Ukraine is a sovereign state with the freedom to make its own decisions, but he questioned whether these decisions are correct. In his view, and especially in the view of President Karol Nawrocki, as well as the majority of Poles, glorifying Stepan Bandera and criminals who committed genocide in Volhynia and Eastern Lesser Poland is not the way to the West, to the world of civilization, or to shared European or transatlantic values.
Bogucki added that Poland and the president will never agree to this, stating, "We do not abandon our own." He noted that the voices of the victims still resound and cannot be drowned out by the voices of the Banderites. He described Ukraine's actions as confrontational and very harmful.
According to media reports, the Polish government does not plan a harsh response to President Zelensky's statement about the creation of the Ukrainian National Pantheon; Warsaw is awaiting the final draft and the announcement of the names that Ukrainians decide to honor. Meanwhile, it has become known that President Nawrocki may limit contacts with Zelensky amid rising tensions in Ukrainian-Polish relations.
