Confederation party lawmaker Marcin Sypniewski staged protest at European Parliament, destroying images of OUN leaders and calling for halt to financial support for Kyiv.
Polish Member of the European Parliament Marcin Sypniewski, representing the right-wing Confederation party, staged a protest during a plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday, tearing up portraits of Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych, two leaders of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). Sypniewski used the parliamentary rostrum to denounce what he described as the glorification of figures associated with wartime atrocities, and called for an immediate halt to European financial assistance to Ukraine.
The incident occurred amid ongoing debate over historical memory and its role in contemporary EU-Ukraine relations. Bandera and Shukhevych remain deeply controversial: celebrated by some Ukrainians as independence fighters, they are accused by Poland, Israel, and historians of responsibility for mass killings of Poles and Jews during World War II, particularly the Volhynia massacres of 1943-1944.
Sypniewski's party, Confederation, has long opposed Polish military and financial aid to Kyiv, arguing that Warsaw's interests are poorly served by unconditional support. The protest was publicized on the party's official Facebook page, where it framed the act as a defense of historical truth and Polish national dignity.
The European Parliament has not issued an official response to the disruption. Polish government officials, who strongly back Ukraine's defense against Russia, have distanced themselves from Confederation's stance, emphasizing that historical disputes should not undermine the strategic alliance.
https://t.me/ukraina_polsha/10362