Between April 26 and 28, information spread across Russian-language accounts (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) claiming that the inscription on Ukrainian graves near Przemyśl, Poland, had been changed. Previously, the plaque on the graves of fighters from the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) read, “Ukrainians who died in battles with the NKVD (People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs of the Soviet Union).” The new inscription reportedly states, “Members of the UPA died in this place, who were responsible for terror and mass killings of unarmed Poles, Ukrainians, and Jews…”
The authors of the posts claim that historical justice has now been restored and that the memorial bears an appropriate inscription.
Indeed, the inscription on the Ukrainian grave in Poland was changed, but this happened as a result of vandalism, not through any official action. An investigation is underway regarding the matter. The Polish police confirmed this information to Myth Detector.
To verify the information, Myth Detector contacted the Polish police. According to their explanation, on April 21, the police received a report about the alteration of the inscription on the memorial. An investigation into the matter is ongoing. The perpetrator has not yet been identified.
The incident occurred near Przemyśl, on Monastery Hill. It is important to note that the inscription was not officially changed; it was the result of vandalism.
The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) was a Ukrainian nationalist group formed in 1942. The UPA is associated with the massacre of the Polish population in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia during 1943-1945. This tragedy was marked by extreme brutality, and most of the victims were women and children.
The aim of placing this altered inscription on the Ukrainian grave is to incite conflict and division between the Polish and Ukrainian peoples.
Myth Detector has previously written about the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. Read more in our materials:
- What do We Know about Stepan Bandera and how does the Kremlin Propaganda use his Name?
- Why Was a Statue Associated with Stepan Bandera Taken Down in Poland?
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