A discussion is heating up in the Polish city of Kielce regarding historical memory and Ukrainian-Polish relations. Deputies from the Law and Justice party have called on the authorities of Vinnytsia to change the name of Stepan Bandera Street, stating that this step could help strengthen the partnership between the two cities.
The faction of the Law and Justice party in the Kielce city council has sent a resolution project to the council chairman, Maciej Jakubczyk, calling on the mayor of Vinnytsia and the city council to rename Stepan Bandera Street.
As reported by Telewizja Świętokrzyska, the initiative arose amid a scandal in the city regarding issues of shared Ukrainian-Polish history. In this regard, Vinnytsia has already withdrawn its request to the Polish sister city for the transfer of buses.
Deputies from the Law and Justice party hope that the document will receive support from all factions at the upcoming city council session.
The text of the resolution states that the Kielce city council is making an official appeal to the leadership of Vinnytsia to change the name of the street, which has borne the name of Stepan Bandera since 2022.
The authors of the document emphasize that Kielce and Vinnytsia have over 70 years of partnership based on cultural and economic cooperation, as well as friendship between the residents of the two cities.
"The scale of these ties has particularly manifested since February 24, 2022, when Russia began its full-scale aggression against Ukraine. The Kielce community has unhesitatingly come to the aid of Vinnytsia and thousands of Ukrainian refugees, providing humanitarian, material, and institutional support, sharing your pain and supporting the struggle for freedom," the document states.
At the same time, the deputies emphasize that genuine partnerships are impossible without discussing complex historical issues.
"The figure of Stepan Bandera and the legacy of the OUN-UPA in Poland are unequivocally associated with mass crimes against the civilian population. According to Polish historians and a significant part of Polish society, Stepan Bandera, as the leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, bears responsibility for the tragic events related to the deaths of the Polish population in Volhynia. Symbols and names associated with this history evoke deep pain in Poland and remain a serious obstacle to the development of partnership relations," the resolution notes.
In this regard, the Kielce deputies have appealed to the authorities and residents of Vinnytsia to choose another name for the street.
In their opinion, there are many outstanding figures in Ukrainian history and in the history of Vinnytsia itself—fighters for independence, cultural figures, scientists, and public figures—whose names could unite rather than divide Ukrainians and Poles.
"Such a step from Vinnytsia, made in the spirit of mutual respect and historical truth, would be an important symbol of the maturity of our partnership. Freeing public space from symbols that provoke disputes between Poles and Ukrainians could strengthen cooperation between our cities for many decades to come," the document states.
It should be noted that in recent days, another controversial issue related to historical memory has been actively discussed in Poland. The occasion was the decision of the President of Ukraine to name one of the training centers of the Special Operations Forces after the heroes of the UPA.
Historical issues continue to be one of the most sensitive topics in relations between Poland and Ukraine. Despite close cooperation and mutual support in recent years, disputes over the interpretation of past events still have the potential to provoke serious political and public discussions on both sides of the border.
