Poland threatens to block Ukraine's EU accession over Bandera controversy

Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Vladyslav Kosiniak‑Kamysz told Polsat News that Warsaw will not support Ukraine’s accession to the European Union if Kyiv continues to honour Stepan Bandera and the wartime organisations OUN and UPA. He said, “Ukraine will never join the EU with Bandera,” and reminded that EU enlargement requires unanimous approval, giving Poland the power to veto the process.

The warning came amid rising tensions after Poland withdrew the White Eagle Order from President Volodymyr Zelensky in response to a Ukrainian unit being named after the UPA, and after Polish opposition leader Jarosław Kaczyński called for blocking further negotiation chapters. The dispute centres on historical memory of World‑War‑II massacres in Volhynia, where tens of thousands of Poles were killed, and on Ukraine’s ongoing negotiations for EU membership.