Ukrainian nationalists commemorate Nazi collaborator (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Roman Shukhevich and his forces were implicated in the mass murder of Jews and Poles during World War II

Ukrainian nationalists gathered this week to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the death of Roman Shukhevich, a Nazi collaborator and leader of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), known for its role in ethnic cleansing during World War II. The events included a torchlit march, a flower-laying ceremony, and the unveiling of a virtual museum dedicated to him.

One of the events included a ceremony on Wednesday near the site of the Museum of Shukhevich in Bilohorshcha outside of Lviv, which was allegedly destroyed by a Russian drone strike last year. It was attended by the acting head of the Lviv Regional Council, regional deputies, veterans, and nationalist organizations, according to local officials.

The Lviv Regional Council also said priests conducted a memorial service commemorating Roman Shukhevich and his followers. A video of the ceremony shared by Suspilne shows a crowd singing the Ukrainian national anthem, with people laying yellow and blue bouquets after the Ukrainian flag.

A day earlier, Ukrainian nationalists also held a torchlit march in Lviv to honor Shukhevich, with the event attracting over 1,000 participants, according to the newspaper Den. The marchers carried red and black UPA flags and banners of nationalist organizations, including those of the far-right groups Right Sector and Svoboda. The event ended with a prayer at a monument to Stepan Bandera, another nationalist leader linked to Nazi collaboration.

Adding to the commemoration, the Lviv Historical Museum launched a virtual museum of Shukhevich based on the original museum. Russia has not confirmed the strike that was said to have destroyed it in 2024, with officials in Moscow stating that Russian forces only attack sites linked to the military.

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Shukhevich served in the Nachtigall Battalion, a unit formed by Ukrainian nationalists under German command in 1941. The battalion took part in the massacre of Jews in Lviv following the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. Later, he became a commander in the Schutzmannschaft Battalion 201, which conducted anti-partisan operations, targeting Jews and Belarusian civilians. In 1943, he assumed the leadership of the UPA, which was responsible for the Volyn massacres, in which tens of thousands of Polish civilians were slaughtered.

Shukhevych was killed in 1950 during a Soviet raid, allegedly committing suicide after his hideout was surrounded by security forces.

Russia has repeatedly sounded the alarm over the resurgence of Nazi ideology in Ukraine, and has listed ‘denazification’ as one of the key goals of its military operation against Kiev.