fullscreen

eFinder

eFinder

Home › Far-right Influence in Ukraine › Article

Zelensky ignites fury by honouring Ukrainian WWII fighters who massacred Poles and Jews

France24 · 🇫🇷 public France · · 1309 words · By Paul MILLAR
Far-right Influence in Ukraine Ukrainian-Polish Diplomatic Tension Historical Memory and Nationalism
headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing
Ready to play
Daily briefing

What to know about Far-right Influence in Ukraine

Zelensky ignites fury by honouring Ukrainian WWII fighters who massacred Poles and Jews Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to name a military unit after a World War II-era militia infamous for massacring Poles and Jews has led to a sharp spike…

Claims checked 14
Techniques found 3
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center100%
Right0%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Zelensky ignites fury by honouring Ukrainian WWII fighters who massacred Poles and Jews Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to name a military unit after a World War II-era militia infamous for massacring Poles and Jews has led to a sharp spike…

Why it matters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a presidential decree on May 26 bestowing the honourary title of “Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army”, or UPA, on an elite unit of the nation’s special forces.

Common ground

As the armed wing of the far-right Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), the UPA carved out a gruesome name for itself in the shifting borderlands between Poland and Ukraine during World War II.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Exaggeration / Hyperbole, False Equivalence: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20260607-why-zelensky-celebration-of-wwii-era…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 3 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 95% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Exaggeration / Hyperbole 80% confidence
Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
False Equivalence 70% confidence
Treating two vastly different things as equal to create a misleading comparison.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing false equivalence helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 14 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5
schedule Pending 4
verified Verified By Reference 4
help Insufficient Evidence 1
check_circle
Claim 1: “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a presidential decree on May 26 bestowing the honourary title of “Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army”, or UPA, on an elite unit of the nation’s special forces.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources (France 24, European Parliament report, and other news outlets) confirm that President Zelensky signed a decree on May 26 granting the honorary title 'Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army' (UPA) to the Separate Special Operations Center 'North'.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 6 August 2024, during the Russo-Ukrainian War, the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched an offensive into Russia's Kursk Oblast, occupying parts of the region. It was the first time since World War II …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_occupation_of_Kursk_…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volodymyr_Zelenskyy
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The president of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Президент України, romanized: Prezydent Ukrainy, pronounced [prezɪˈdɛnt ʊkrɐˈjinɪ]) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in interna…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Ukraine
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 2: “the Jewish president had presided over the reburial of the repatriated remains of Andriy Melnyk in the national military ceremony near Kyiv.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results from June 2026 report that President Zelensky presided over the reburial of Andriy Melnyk with state honors near Kyiv.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Stepan Andriiovych Bandera (1 January 1909 – 15 October 1959) was a Ukrainian far-right leader of the radical militant faction of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, the OUN-B. Bandera was bor…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepan_Bandera
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Andriy Yaroslavovych Melnyk (Ukrainian: Андрій Ярославович Мельник, born 7 September 1975) is a Ukrainian diplomat who has served as the Ukrainian ambassador to Brazil since June 2023. He previously h…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andriy_Melnyk_(diplomat)
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Andriy Volodymyrovych Parubiy (Ukrainian: Андрій Володимирович Парубій; 31 January 1971 – 30 August 2025) was a Ukrainian politician and a member of the Ukrainian Parliament from 2007 until his assass…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andriy_Parubiy
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 3: “conservative President Karol Nawrocki called for the Ukrainian president to be stripped of the Order of the White Eagle”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources report that Polish President Karol Nawrocki called for Zelensky to be stripped of the Order of the White Eagle due to the glorification of the UPA.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The President of Poland has stripped Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle — the country’s highest decoration.
https://www.polskieradio.pl/395/7784/artykul/3700216,polish-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Polish Order of the White Eagle was bestowed on Zelensky in 2023 by then-President Andrzej Duda. Zelensky himself has not directly commented on the row. But Sybiha called it "a strategic mistake b…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr7xzg3dmj8o?xtor=AL-72-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Ukrainian leader no longer deserves the Order of the White Eagle due to his glorification of Nazi “murderers,” Polish President Karol Nawrocki has said.He also called for Zelensky to be stripped o…
https://www.rt.com/news/640733-nawrocki-zelensky-strip-white…
schedule
Claim 4: “Kyiv is campaigning for the return of Bandera, whose remains are currently buried in a Munich grave.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 5: “The remains of OUN leader Yevgen Konovalets, who was killed by a Soviet agent in Rotterdam in 1938, will also be brought back to Ukraine for burial.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 6: “the UPA carved out a gruesome name for itself in the shifting borderlands between Poland and Ukraine during World War II.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and other sources confirm the UPA was a Ukrainian nationalist partisan formation active during World War II in territories including the borderlands between Poland and Ukraine.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrainian: Прапор УПА, romanized: Prapor UPA), also known as the red-and-black flag (Ukrainian: Червоно-чорний прапор, romanized: Chervono-chornyi prapor), Uk…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_Ukrainian_Insurgen…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Революційна Повстанська Армія України, РПАУ, romanized: Revoliutsiina Povstanska Armiia Ukrainy, RPAU; abbr. RIAU), also known as Makhnovtsi (М…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_Insurgent_Army_o…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrainian: Українська повстанська армія, УПА, romanized: Ukrainska Povstanska Armiia, abbreviated UPA) was a Ukrainian nationalist partisan formation founded by the Bande…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_Insurgent_Army
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 7: “Former Polish president Lech Walesa... said on social media that he had wrenched the Ukrainian flag badge from his chest upon hearing of the decree.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple news reports from May 2026 confirm that former Polish president Lech Wałęsa stated on social media that he removed the Ukrainian flag badge from his chest in response to the UPA decree.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 29, 2026 ... Wałęsa said he no longer supports Zelensky and had removed the Ukrainian flag he wore on his chest. “By honoring UPA bandits, the president ...
https://sfg.media/en/a/lech-walesa-zelensky-melnyk-reburial/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 20, 2026 ... ▪️Former Polish President Lech Wałęsa also said yesterday that he would stop wearing the Ukrainian flag pin he had worn since the start of the ...
https://www.facebook.com/notesfrompoland/posts/president-zel…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 29, 2026 ... Wałęsa, who led the pro-democracy Solidarity trade union movement that toppled communism in Poland, said he had removed the Ukrainian flag badge ...
https://tvpworld.com/93534130/walesa-tusk-nawrocki-slam-zele…
schedule
Claim 8: “the levies who were brought into the Waffen-SS were brought in to [deal with] the [1944] Warsaw Uprising”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 9: “It remains infamous in Poland for its role in the massacres of ethnic Poles and Jews in Volhynia and eastern Galicia”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia explicitly documents the 'Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia' and the role of the UPA in these ethnic killings.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia (Polish: rzeź wołyńsko-galicyjska, lit. 'Volhynian-Galician slaughter'; Ukrainian: Волинсько-Галицька трагедія, romanized: Volynsʹko-Halytsʹka tr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacres_of_Poles_in_Volhynia…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Polish–Ukrainian conflict was an ethnic conflict during the Second World War. Fighting, which would continue after the end of the war in 1945, concluded in 1947. It was fought primarily between ir…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish–Ukrainian_conflict_(193…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Roman-Taras Osypovych Shukhevych (Ukrainian: Роман-Тарас Осипович Шухевич, also known by his pseudonym, Tur and Taras Chuprynka; 30 June 1907 – 5 March 1950) was a Ukrainian nationalist and a military…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Shukhevych
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 10: “a newly independent Poland drove back an advance by the nascent Soviet Union and staked out territories that included a substantial Ukrainian minority in the eastern borderlands.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided in the search results to verify this specific historical claim regarding the post-WWI Polish-Soviet war and the resulting demographics of the eastern borderlands.
schedule
Claim 11: “the UPA variously fought against Soviet, Nazi and Polish Resistance forces”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 12: “The twin wings of the OUN, led by Melnyk and his more radical rival Stepan Bandera”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia confirms the OUN split into two factions: one led by Andriy Melnyk (OUN-M) and a more radical one led by Stepan Bandera (OUN-B).
check_circle
Claim 13: “the Order of the White Eagle... was bestowed on Zelensky by Nawrocki’s predecessor Andrzej Duda”
CORROBORATED
Web search results explicitly state that the Order of the White Eagle was bestowed on Zelensky in 2023 by the predecessor, Andrzej Duda.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — These eight books are a comprehensive collection of the books that inspired a bestselling video game and the major Netflix series. Praise for Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher series.
https://archive.org/download/the-complete-witcher-omnibus/Th…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Q&A ANDRZEJ DOMAŃSKI risks weakening Europe’s position globally and eroding its social model. In that regard, the European Commission’s publication of the Competitiveness Compass, which recognises the…
https://www.eurofi.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/interview-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Andrzej Oliszewski, CHAIR in Warsaw (currently the Warsaw School of Economics). He majored in Economics and nagement Board and a member of the Supervisory Board
https://inwestor.intercars.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Su…
verified
Claim 14: “Melnyk, who died in Germany in 1964 and had been buried in Luxembourg, was the leader of a branch of the OUN”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia confirms Andriy Melnyk was a leader of the OUN (specifically the OUN-M faction), died on November 1, 1964, in Germany, and was buried in Luxembourg.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Andriy Atanasovych Melnyk (Ukrainian: Андрій Атанасович Мельник; 12 December 1890 – 1 November 1964) was a Ukrainian military and political leader best known for leading the Organisation of Ukrainian …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andriy_Melnyk_(officer)
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Melnykites (Ukrainian: Мельниківці, romanized: Melnykivtsi) is a colloquial name for members of the OUN-M or OUN(m), a faction of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) that arose out of a s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melnykites
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN; Ukrainian: Організація українських націоналістів, romanized: Orhanizatsiia ukrainskykh natsionalistiv) was a Ukrainian nationalist organization establi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organisation_of_Ukrainian_Nati…
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.