Sybiha may go to Poland to propose a new hero for the National Pantheon, - Polish media

The visit of the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is intended to ease tensions between Kyiv and Warsaw over the creation of the National Pantheon.

Сибіга поїде до Варшави, щоб запропонувати "компромісного" героя для Польщі / фото зі сторінки МЗС

01 July, 19:35

Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andriy Sybiha will travel to Poland with a "compromise" proposal regarding the Ukrainian National Pantheon. This is reported by reported by "European Pravda" referring to the publication Wirtualna Polska (WP).

The visit will take place after the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine supported the law on the creation of the Ukrainian National Pantheon today, July 1.

Compromise figure: General Marko Bezruczko

According to journalists, in Warsaw, Sybiha will propose including Marko Bezruczko, a general of the army of the Ukrainian People's Republic (UNR), in the future Pantheon.

This is a compromise, as Bezruczko is a symbol of the joint Ukrainian-Polish struggle against the Bolsheviks. In 1920, together with Polish forces, he liberated Kyiv and successfully defended Zamość from Soviet troops.

The figure of the general is well known in the neighboring country: a square in the Wola district of Warsaw and a roundabout in Wrocław have already been named in his honor.

Warsaw's reaction: restraint and fears

Despite the positive context of Bezruczko's figure, in Polish diplomatic circles, the proposal is perceived as "desirable" but one that does not guarantee real changes in complex historical discussions between the countries.

Sources of the publication note that the Polish side fears a potential escalation and that later figures causing irritation in Warsaw may be proposed for the Pantheon.

At the same time, the Polish government does not plan any drastic steps. Warsaw is awaiting the finalization of the project and the official announcement of all names.

"Ukraine has sovereignty and freedom of decision-making, but the question is whether these decisions are correct," commented the head of the Chancellery of the President of Poland, Zbigniew Bogucki, on the adoption of the law.

What the Office of the President of Ukraine says

The Presidential Office has already reacted to WP's publication. Advisor to the Head of State Dmytro Lytvyn called the idea regarding Marko Bezruczko "not bad." However, he emphasized that the final word would not be with the Minister of Foreign Affairs: according to the adopted law, the decision will be made by a special collegial body. Each specific name proposed for honoring in the Pantheon will be approved by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine by a majority vote.

We remind you that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted a bill "On the Ukrainian National Pantheon" to the Verkhovna Rada to honor the most prominent representatives of the Ukrainian nation.

"The names of all heroes who fought for Ukraine in different centuries and eras, inspired Ukraine, will be united and forever inscribed in our history. [...] When no one and never will order how we should live, how to speak, whom to love, whom to be grateful to, and whom to honor as heroes," noted Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

This position was supported by the Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Budanov, who emphasized that "no one and never again will dictate to Ukrainians which heroes to honor, which holidays to celebrate, or which history to study."

At the same time, the initiative caused a sharp reaction in Warsaw. The press secretary of the President of Poland, Rafał Leszczewski, stated that his country views the creation of the Pantheon as another stage of escalatory actions. The dissatisfaction of the Polish side is also related to the recent naming of one of the Special Operations Forces units "in honor of the UPA Heroes."