Slawomir Menzen, a candidate for president of Poland from the Ukrainophobic Confederation party, visited Lviv and recorded a provocative video there, which he shared on social media.
Points of attention
- Slawomir Menzen, a Polish politician from the Ukrainophobic Confederation party, triggered an anti-Ukrainian controversy in Lviv by recording a provocative video at the monument to Stepan Bandera.
- Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi condemned Menzen's actions, labeling him as a pro-Russian politician with a Polish passport and calling for repercussions.
- The incident shed light on the tensions between Poland and Ukraine, as Menzen's statements about historical figures and events sparked outrage and further political polarization.
Menzen caused an anti-Ukrainian scandal in Lviv — Sadovyi responded
Menzen arrived in Ukraine on the anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion. He arrived with Anna Brylka, a member of the European Parliament from the Confederation, who recently said that Poland should receive a "guarantee of the return" of aid from Ukraine.
Polish politicians recorded a video from under the monument to Stepan Bandera, in which Menzen said that Bandera "is a terrorist who, during the Second Polish Republic, was sentenced to death by a Polish court for the murder of Poles."
Ukraina musi przestać gloryfikować morderców takich jak Bandera i Szuchewycz! pic.twitter.com/NuVuLinB7y
— Sławomir Mentzen (@SlawomirMentzen) February 26, 2025
Then he founded the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, which is responsible for the massacre in Volhynia. This man's people killed 100,000 Poles.
Brylka, in turn, added that a monument to Bandera in Ukraine is the same as if monuments to Hitler were built in Germany.
Menzen also visited the Orlyat Cemetery in Lviv, where he laid flowers.
As the President of the Republic of Poland, I will do everything to ensure that there is no new Polish military cemetery. I will not allow Polish soldiers to be sent to Ukraine!
Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi reacted sharply to such actions of Polish politicians. He called Menzen a "pro-Russian politician with a Polish passport." Sadovyi wrote in X that Menzen should show courage and record a video near the Donetsk stele.
He can go to the front and share his thoughts, in particular with Polish volunteers. We need to check whether he is allowed to enter Ukraine at all.
Andriy Sadovy
Mayor of Lviv
Menzen reacted to Sadovy's publication with another provocative statement in H. He said that "I am a Pole and went to the beautiful and cultural Polish city of Lviv, which the Russians once caused a lot of damage to."
On the spot I saw a monument to Bandera, a cult of Bandera criminals led by Shukhevych. You should be ashamed that in such a wonderful city you agree to the cult of genocidal criminals and murderers of my compatriots. You should be banned from entering Poland.
He said that if he wins the election, he will "immediately address" the issue of banning Andriy Sadovy from entering the country.
