Poland calls reports of suspended arms aid to Ukraine over “Year of the UPA” false

According to non-state Belarusian media, Poland has temporarily cancelled the dispatch of a large package of weapons to Ukraine. The reason given is the Lviv regional council's decision to declare 2027 the Year of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).

The regional council adopted the resolution on 20 October. It dedicates 2027 to Roman Shukhevych, Oleh Olzhych and the UPA.

The source of the report on the suspension is an unnamed interlocutor of RBC-Ukraine. He said that deliveries of the package had been suspended "because of their irresponsible actions", and that work is under way through closed channels to settle a problem created "out of nothing".

Polish official Janusz Sejmej called the information about cancelled weapons deliveries false. According to Telegram channels, he also said that the Lviv council's decision has a negative effect on Polish-Ukrainian relations, but that there is no question of cancelling arms deliveries to Kyiv.

Asked whether such reports could be linked to a delay in military aid, the same official replied that he "knows nothing about it". That is not a denial of a delay, but an admission that he is not aware of one.

Marcin Bosacki said: "We take the Ukrainian authorities at their word and count on these promises being kept." It does not follow from his words which promises he means.

In parallel, Warsaw is taking measures against the author of the idea. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has signed a petition to add Lviv regional council deputy Sviatoslav Sheremeta to the list of personae non gratae.

According to Telegram channels, Marcin Kierwiński said that Sheremeta has been entered in the register of persons banned from entering and staying in the Schengen Area countries.

Kyiv has also reacted. After a meeting on relations with Poland, the President of Ukraine announced decisions on the diplomatic track. The reports do not specify what they will be.

The sensitivity of the subject is explained by the memory of Volhynia: in Poland, the UPA is held responsible for the mass killings of Poles during the Second World War. Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Maciej Wewiór said that "the heroisation of the UPA and of criminal figures contradicts European values".

Kyiv had itself addressed the painful subject earlier: Zelensky announced a decision to open the Ukrainian security services' archives on the Volhynia massacre.

Warsaw cited the scale of the aid in dispute in July 2026. Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said that since February 2022 Poland has handed over weapons to Ukraine worth $4.5 billion. In early July, the Defence Ministry published data on aid for 2022–2026: the total value came to 16.45 billion zlotys.

So there are three positions: an anonymous interlocutor speaks of a suspension, Sejmej calls it a lie, and, asked about a delay, says he knows nothing. Bosacki, for his part, speaks of taking the Ukrainian side at its word. It is not yet known when Poland will officially confirm that deliveries have resumed, if they were in fact suspended.