Officer Azovu responded to the criticism of the Polish Minister of Defense because of the UPA flag on Polish Rosomak armored personnel carriers

In his Telegram channel, Ponomarenko wrote that Kosinyak-Kamysh “found nothing better” than public outrage over the use of red and black flags by the Ukrainian military, thus playing on the theme of “the historical war of Poland with Ukraine” and increasing the rejection of Ukraine in Polish society in order to get “a portion of cheap popularity”.

“At the same time, he is not at all interested in where exactly this Polish equipment is used and what tasks it performs. Including, deterring the Russian hordes away from the Polish border,” added officer Azov.

He recalled that “one of the greatest anti-communists in history” Winston Churchill during the Second World War supplied British military equipment to the Soviet Union, not resenting that communist symbols were painted on it, as well as the rest of the British generals and ministers. Ponomarenko attributed this to the fact that “unlike today’s politicians”, the British then “thought about the future” and understood the role of the Soviet army in the anti-Hitler coalition and the defense of Great Britain.

“Returning to the Polish minister, one should not talk about the short-sightedness of the Poles – they have never had it in their history. In their paradigm, everything is clear and understandable: Poland needs a weak Ukraine, where it will be possible to sell Polish goods, get cheap labor and impose its worldview. For them, the theoretical Ukrainian defeat in the war is perceived not because of the thesis that “Poland will become the next victim of Russia”, but as an opportunity to remove a potential competitor for the role of regional leader with someone else’s hands,” officer Azovu also stated.

On December 20, the Minister of Defense of Poland Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysh on his page in the X social network called “provocation” flags of the UPA, which the Ukrainian military places on Polish Rosomak armored personnel carriers. He also informed that he instructed to urgently contact the Ukrainian attaché in Warsaw to clarify this issue.

The publication Polsat noted that the corresponding criticism appeared after footage was published on the Internet showing Polish Rosomak armored personnel carriers with red and black flags at the front in Ukraine.

Ukraine and Poland have long been at odds regarding the actions of the Ukrainian rebel army (UPA) during the Second World War. In Poland, it is believed that the UPA carried out repressions against Poles in 1943-1944 as part of the so-called ethnic cleansing.

The most famous tragedy of the Polish-Ukrainian confrontation is Volynsk, which occurred in 1943, when the Polish Home Army and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army staged, according to Ukrainian researchers, mutual ethnic cleansing. As a result, more than 100,000 people died in Volyn. Poles and 40 thousand Ukrainians Witnesses of those events note the brutal methods of massacres on both sides.

On November 27, during a meeting in Warsaw, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Poland and Ukraine, Radoslav Sikorskyi and Andrii Sybiga, adopted a joint statement on the issue of exhumation of the victims of the Volyn tragedy. In a statement, Ukraine confirmed the absence of obstacles to conducting search and exhumation works on its territory.

The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Pawel Wronski, said that the exhumation of the victims could begin in the spring of 2025.