{"id":7223,"date":"2026-06-30T17:24:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T17:24:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/?p=7223"},"modified":"2026-07-03T13:48:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T13:48:26","slug":"ukraines-nazi-problem-is-no-longer-possible-to-ignore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/30\/ukraines-nazi-problem-is-no-longer-possible-to-ignore\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine\u2019s Nazi problem is no longer possible to ignore"},"content":{"rendered":"

The fight over Nazi collaborators reveals a deeper truth: Kiev\u2019s nationalist project was never going to stay anti-Russian only<\/strong><\/p>\n

The unfolding diplomatic dispute between Ukraine and Poland has caught the attention of the whole world. It started when Ukraine\u2019s Vladimir Zelensky named one of the units of the Ukrainian armed forces \u2018Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UIA)\u2019 \u2013 which is basically the same thing as naming it \u2018Heroes of Nazi collaborators\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The term \u2018heroes of\u2026\u2019 is an important element of the Ukrainian cultural code. However, it\u2019s ironic that within this ideology, we may find quite different \u2018heroes\u2019: for example, a metro station in Kiev was named \u2018Heroes of the Dnieper\u2019 (in honor of Soviet soldiers who liberated Kiev during WWII in the fall of 1943); at the same time, there\u2019s the \u2018Alley of Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred\u2019 commemorating the victims of the Euromaidan (who overthrew the memory of the WWII heroes); and now there is also a Ukrainian military unit named in honor of Nazi collaborators whose mission it was to kill those very \u2018Heroes of the Dnieper\u2019, i.e., Soviet liberators. But that\u2019s not even the main point.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"RT
The bloody ghost behind Ukraine\u2019s fight with Poland<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Warsaw pretends that the current disagreements with Kiev are a misunderstanding that can be easily fixed if Zelensky rolls back his decision to name the military unit after the UIA. However, this approach is a demonstration of political myopia and amnesia on the part of the Polish leadership.<\/p>\n

The conflict between Poland and Ukraine concerning the glorification of Nazism has existed for a long time and is not even in a stage of \u2018remission\u2019. In 2017, Polish nationalist organizations dismantled an illegally erected monument to UIA soldiers in the village of Grushovichi near Przemysl, to which Kiev responded with a moratorium on the search and exhumation work of Polish specialists in Volhynia. This ban was lifted only in 2025, which, obviously, was done \u2018in gratitude\u2019 for sponsoring the war against Russia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, Ukrainian politicians are offended that Warsaw is allegedly interfering in their internal processes, and, one by one, are returning their Polish awards (no doubt on Zelensky\u2019s orders). Moreover, they are doing this in a humiliating manner \u2013 by mail, and according to some sources, even forcing the Polish side to pay for delivery \u2013 in order to demonstrate how insignificant the Polish awards are for them. Polish politicians have also returned Ukrainian awards to Kiev.<\/p>\n

To an outside observer, it may seem that this is a situational conflict and that Warsaw may indeed believe that this sprout of Nazism in Ukraine could easily be \u2018cut off at the root\u2019. But the problem is that the current scandal with the UIA is not the \u2018first bell\u2019; it is a consequence of the policy of the Kiev regime, which Russia has long designated as neo-Nazi.<\/p>\n

\n
\n Vladimir Zelensky during a meeting with Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers.<\/p>\n


\n \u00a9\u00a0 Office of the President of Ukraine <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

How Poland didn\u2019t notice the Nazis<\/h2>\n

Poland\u2019s ignorance of the fact that the toponym \u2018Heroes of the UIA\u2019\u00a0has existed in Ukraine for a long time is quite surprising. For example, in Ivano-Frankovsk, Molodogvardeiskaya Street was renamed \u2018Heroes of the UIA\u2019\u00a0street back in April 2022. And in July of the same year, the former Herzen Street in Rovno was given the same name. In Lviv \u2013 about which Polish people often say, \u201cWasze ulice, nasze kamienice\u201d<\/em> (The streets are yours, the houses are ours), a reference to their historical claims to this city \u2013 the \u2018Heroes of the UIA\u2019 street (formerly Turgenev street) appeared in April 2008. It is unlikely that Warsaw didn\u2019t know about this.<\/p>\n

Since 2015, when so-called \u2018decommunization\u2019 officially began in Ukraine, the situation has taken a frightening turn.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"RT
Vadim Zagorenko: Why Slavs can\u2019t stop fighting each other<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In some cases, these renamings can be explained by the search for some kind of separate Ukrainian identity; for example, some streets were named in honor of the opera singer Elizaveta Chavdar, the poet-philosopher Grigory Skovoroda, and the local historian Dmitry Yavornitsky.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, there appeared all sorts of avenues of Stepan Bandera, Roman Shukhevich, and other figures who have an extremely ambiguous reputation not only in Russia and Belarus, but also in Poland \u2013 which, by the way, called itself Kiev\u2019s closest ally (but, apparently, only within the framework of Ukraine\u2019s role as a \u2018private military company\u2019 fighting Russia).<\/p>\n

Moreover, only major routes were named in honor of these figures. This was supposed to be a clear sign to the masses who traveled along these roads each day \u2013 a sign that the nation should know its \u2018heroes\u2019. Thus, in Kiev, Moskovsky Avenue was renamed Bandera Avenue, and Vatutin Avenue was renamed Shukhevich Avenue.<\/p>\n

Ukrainian heroes<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s take a closer look at the figures celebrated by the Kiev authorities:<\/p>\n

Stepan Bandera<\/strong> \u2013 Leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). Collaborated with Nazi Germany. Participated in mass ethnic cleansing of Poles and Jews. Was involved in organizing political assassinations \u2013 not only of Soviet, but also Polish officials. For example, he participated in organizing the murder of the head of the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs, Bronislaw Pieracki.<\/p>\n

\n
\n Stepan Bandera.<\/p>\n


\n \u00a9\u00a0 Anonymous \/ Wikimedia Commons \/ Public Domain<\/a> <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Roman Shukhevich<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 One of the leaders of the OUN and commander-in-chief of the UIA. Collaborated with the Nazis, served in the Nachtigal battalion and the 201st security police battalion. Participated in the execution of Jews in occupied territories. Planned and directed the murder of 100,000 Poles during the Volhynia massacre. Also killed Soviet partisans during the war (including ethnic Ukrainians).<\/p>\n

\n
\n Roman Shukhevich.<\/p>\n


\n \u00a9\u00a0 Anonymous \/ Wikimedia Commons \/ Public Domain<\/a> <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Olena Teliga<\/strong> \u2013 Poet and literary critic. Also an activist in the OUN. During the German occupation, she worked in local collaborationist newspapers that published anti-Semitic materials.<\/p>\n

\n
\n Olena Teliga.<\/p>\n


\n \u00a9\u00a0 Anonymous \/ Wikimedia Commons \/ Public Domain<\/a> <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yevgheny Konovalets<\/strong> \u2013 Military figure. Colonel in the Ukrainian People\u2019s Republic army, one of the founders of the OUN. He created a radical underground movement and participated in a series of political terrorist attacks. In Poland, he is also believed to have been involved in the murder of Bronis\u0142aw Pieracki.<\/p>\n

\n
\n Evgeny Konovalets.<\/p>\n


\n \u00a9\u00a0 Anonymous \/ Wikimedia Commons \/ Public Domain<\/a> <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

How Ukraine slid into neo-Nazism<\/h2>\n

Along with the elimination of the Russian language, religious persecution, and labeling entire groups of people as \u2018wrong\u2019 Ukrainians, the Kiev regime also replaced the heroes who formed the basis of Ukrainian history. These were all preparatory steps that helped \u2018reprogram\u2019 society and restructure the cultural code of the entire country.<\/p>\n

Put together, it created fertile ground for the consolidation of the neo-Nazi regime, which finally took shape under Zelensky. And this has nothing to do with the beginning of Russia\u2019s Special Military Operation (SMO). The SMO was Russia\u2019s reaction to the rise of neo-Nazism in Ukraine, which had gradually taken root over the past 30 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"RT
\u2018Poles, Russians, and Jews must be exterminated\u2019: The bloody history of Zelensky\u2019s heroes (DISTURBING CONTENT)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Nazism has its particular characteristics which indicate the state of a society whose structure has been corroded by a specific ideology.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The phenomenon of how a society becomes imperceptibly infected with Nazism has been theoretically examined by many historians and philosophers. Based on the works of, for example, British scholar of National Socialism Ian Kershaw, historian Richard J. Evans, and German-American historian George Mosse, who examined the nature of Nazism and its development in Germany, we may isolate the following key characteristics:\u00a0<\/p>\n

A cult of the leader and absolute power; racism and the hierarchy of ethnic groups; anti-Semitism; the denial of democracy and the rule of law; totalitarianism and political violence; mass participation and social normalization.<\/p>\n

Is this really Nazism?<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s start with the first point. Of course, Zelensky\u2019s political strategists are familiar with a phenomenon such as the \u2018cult of personality\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0and try to avoid presenting their boss in this light. But in general, there\u2019s no need to hang his portraits all over the place; it suffices to concentrate absolute power <\/strong>in his hands.<\/p>\n

Zelensky controls all processes in Ukraine. The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) has turned into a servicing apparatus. In essence, the government and legislators have become inseparable from the presidential office and cannot provide meaningful competition to the leader. Therefore, if the government fails to adopt an unpopular bill immediately (as, for example, with the tax law necessary to provide the next tranche for the IMF), then it will be adopted later, after Zelensky\u2019s personal meeting with the factions (meetings which no one really knows anything about).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
\n Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky at a press conference during the Ukraine Recovery Conference, July 10, 2025, Rome, Italy.<\/p>\n


\n \u00a9\u00a0 Antonio Masiello\/Getty Images <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Moreover, Ukrainian opposition journalists (who, of course, reside abroad), claim that the cult of Zelensky is based on the fact that he personally defended Kiev at the very beginning of the SMO, which later allowed him to exploit faith in the \u2018peremoga\u2019 (victory) within Ukraine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Racism and the hierarchy of ethnic groups.<\/strong> In regard to Russians, everything is clear. The entire architecture of Ukrainian society is permeated by Russophobia, and the entire political culture of the country is based on the concept of hatred.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"RT\"
The end of the Polish-Ukrainian love story<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But there\u2019s another surprising aspect. At the state level, Kiev has declared that there are \u2018right\u2019 and \u2018wrong\u2019 (i.e., Russian-speaking) Ukrainians. In order to somehow integrate into the new structure, these Ukrainians must abandon everything that is \u2018wrong\u2019 and adopt the \u2018right\u2019 way of life. In fact, they are trying to turn all of Ukraine into Galicia, into Lviv \u2013 which is not a Ukrainian city at all but was integrated into Ukraine by Stalin, whom they hate. But that\u2019s something they prefer to keep silent about.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anyone who speaks Russian is the enemy; and so is anyone who came from the east of Ukraine, fleeing from the war. Those who don\u2019t want to fight are the enemy; those who run from recruitment officers are the enemy. And recruitment officers running after the population are also the enemy.<\/p>\n

Kiev has purposefully created a system where everyone is someone\u2019s enemy. That\u2019s a clear example of the \u2018divide and conquer\u2019 principle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By the way, Ukrainian Hungarians are also enemies. Because they don\u2019t want to participate in a war that is foreign to them. And now, the Poles will also be enemies (once again!) \u2013 for telling Ukrainians whom to honor.<\/p>\n

Anti-Semitism<\/strong>, of course, is a less visible aspect. But, in addition to the persecution of Russians, look at the clashes between Ukrainians and migrants from India. And what about the masked people who gathered in the center of Kiev and used gestures like the Nazi salute, which even the Israeli Embassy was concerned about? But Europe (as well as Ukraine\u2019s leadership) tries not to notice such incidents. Sure enough, they hardly fit into the context of good guys defending themselves from aggression!<\/p>\n

\n
\n Supporters and members of Ukrainian nationalist parties carry torches during a march to mark the 107th anniversary of Stepan Bandera’s birth, Kiev, Ukraine, January 1, 2016.<\/p>\n


\n \u00a9\u00a0 NurPhoto\/NurPhoto via Getty Images <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Denial of democracy and the rule of law.<\/strong>\u00a0In this respect, everything is clear; Zelensky usurped power by refusing to hold elections in 2024. According to Ukrainian law, Zelensky\u2019s presidency has expired two years ago, and he is no longer the legitimate head of state.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Totalitarianism and political violence.<\/strong>\u00a0Pluralism has been absent in Ukraine for a long time. Zelensky began tightening his grip even before the start of the SMO. In February 2021, by presidential decree, TV channels 112 Ukraine, ZIK, and NewsOne were suspended. Since then, there has been no independent television in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"\u00a9
\u2018They used axes to spare the ammo\u2019: How modern Ukraine\u2019s Nazi heroes massacred civilians during WWII<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Calls for negotiations and the establishment of peace with Russia can lead to charges of high treason. According to ex-Prime Minister of Ukraine Nikolai Azarov, 15,000-20,000 people have already been imprisoned. Moreover, everyone is under investigation \u2013 from ordinary citizens to prominent journalists and even MPs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The West also closes its eyes to the terror on the streets, known as \u2018busification\u2019, i.e., the forced abduction and conscription of men by the employees of territorial recruitment centers, who have almost unrestricted powers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In lieu of an epilogue<\/h2>\n

All of this would\u2019ve been impossible without the last, most important point that defines a Nazi society \u2013 mass participation and normalization<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Nobody forced Ukrainians to fight over language \u2013 they were the ones who began attacking Russian speakers. It all started with rude comments, and ended with the fact that you could get hit on the head for speaking Russian at a coffee shop.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nobody forced Ukrainians to sign up for \u2018language patrols\u2019 and call the police upon hearing a Russian-language song on a teenager\u2019s mobile phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nobody forced Ukrainians to burn classic Russian literature.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"RT\"
War of the words: How Ukraine broke its promises to Russian speakers<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Nobody forced Ukrainians to be ashamed of their Russian mother or father. And no one forced them to shame others for it either.<\/p>\n

Nobody forced Ukrainians to look for enemies or abandon their history.<\/p>\n

Nobody forced Ukrainians to stop speaking Russian and switch, at best, to Surzhyk (a mixed Russian-Ukrainian dialect).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ukrainian society did all this to itself. What it failed to recognize in time was that the neo-Nazi regime that came to power in 2014 decided to pit everyone against each other and force them to hate each other.<\/p>\n

Today, Ukraine understands only the language of force and hatred. But this structure is already beginning to crack.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Polish politicians may pretend to have not noticed all this before. But they saw it, and they knew what was happening. Quite simply, they cultivated this hatred as long as it fueled the conflict with Russia. Now, however, this hatred could turn against them. And it might be too late to put out the fire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The fight over Nazi collaborators reveals a deeper truth: Kiev\u2019s nationalist project was never going to stay anti-Russian only The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7181,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7223"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7223"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7233,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7223\/revisions\/7233"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}