Published: January 1, 2025 11:45 pm
Author: RT
Crowds in Lviv carried nationalist flags and shouted slogans in tribute to Stepan Bandera
Hundreds of Ukrainians marched through the center of Lviv bearing torches, flares and red and black neo-Nazi flags on New Year’s Day.
The event was organized to honor WWII-era nationalist leader and Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera’s birthday.
Videos circulating on social media on Wednesday showed a square in the Western Ukrainian city lit up with red flares, as men in camouflage marched and shouted the “Slava Ukraini” (‘Glory to Ukraine’) slogan.
In one video, a group of marchers could be seen carrying Ukrainian flags, the red and black flags of Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) as well as a battle standard with Bandera’s face emblazoned on the red and black.
According to Ukrainian outlet Strana, the march was preceded by a singing performance and prayer near a monument dedicated to the nationalist figure. Bandera, a member of the OUN militant wing, was one of the leaders of the UPA during WWII. They allied with invading Nazi Germans to conduct massacres of Poles, Jews, Russians and Ukrainians they accused of collaborating with the Soviets.
Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko declared Bandera and the UPA national heroes in 2010. This was reaffirmed by the government installed by the US-backed coup in 2014. Since then, Ukrainian nationalists have held torchlight parades every January to mark Bandera’s birthday, calling him the “father of the nation.” The OUN’s rallying cry and its red and black flag was adopted by notorious neo-Nazi groups in modern Ukraine.
READ MORE: Ukraine yet to be ‘denazified’ – Putin
Moscow has accused the current Ukrainian government of embracing Nazi ideology and letting the West turn their country into an enemy and a threat to Russia. The Kremlin has listed the “denazification” of Ukraine as one of the key objectives of the current military operation, as well as its demilitarization and neutrality.
