Ukraine’s embassy blames Russia for Warsaw monument graffiti, calls it bid to ‘sow hostility’ between Ukrainians, Poles

Ukraine’s embassy in Poland has blamed Russia for graffiti found on two Warsaw monuments, describing it as a possible attempt to drive a wedge between Ukrainians and Poles. The accusation comes as disagreements over historical memory and rising anti-Ukrainian sentiment have strained relations between the neighbouring countries, despite Poland’s support for Ukraine and its reception of millions of Ukrainian refugees.

Red inscriptions reading “Slava UPA” were found on 14 November at the Monument to the Heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto and a monument to soldiers of the First Polish Army. Police are investigating and have not identified those responsible; the same words were reportedly painted on three monuments in Gdynia earlier in November. The UPA is remembered in Ukraine for its fight for independence, while in Poland it is associated with the 1943–45 Volyn massacres, in which tens of thousands of Poles were killed, as well as retaliatory attacks that killed thousands of Ukrainians.