MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Polish people maintain that Shukhevych is responsible for the Volhynia mass killing by the UPA. In Ukraine, Shukhevych was recognized as a hero in 2007.
"He is a Ukrainian hero and received such an award. This is a man who did a lot for building the state of Ukraine. I reiterate: historians should find out whether he did something bad for other nations. If so, we will have to bow down to our immediate neighbors and apologize for the horrible acts if they were indeed committed," Klympush-Tsintsadze said when answering the question if she personally considers Shukhevych a hero.
The Volhynia massacre was part of an ethnic cleansing operation carried out in Nazi-occupied Poland by UPA in 1943-1944. According to various estimates, up to 100,000 people were killed in the conflict.
In 2015, Ukrainian lawmakers passed a bill recognizing notorious ultranationalist groups, including UPA, as fighters for the country's independence in the 20th century and granted them social benefits under the new law.
