Lviv Council Plans Commemoration for UPA Leader and OUN Figures

Lviv regional councillors have proposed official commemorations for UPA commander Roman Shukhevych and nationalist Oleh Olzhych, while simultaneously calling for new diplomatic initiatives to manage historical narratives regarding Poland.

Commemoration Proposals in Lviv

On July 6, the commission for culture, promotion, and information policy proposed honoring Ukrainian nationalist figures. The initiative coincides with the upcoming 120th anniversaries of the births of Roman Shukhevych and Oleh Olzhych, as well as the 85th anniversary of the formation of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.

Official records from the Lviv Regional Council confirm these plans and note that the commission also held discussions regarding Ukrainian-Polish relations and existing historical tensions.

Managing Historical Narratives

Commission Chairman Sviatoslav Sheremeta suggested establishing a thematic center staffed by specialists in Polish-Ukrainian relations. The proposed mandate for this center includes countering disinformation and strengthening the Ukrainian historical narrative through increased research funding and media collaboration.

Sheremeta announced that he intends to formally petition the Lviv Regional Military Administration—the temporary regional governing body established during the Russian invasion—to implement these measures.

Historical Profiles of the Figures

Roman Shukhevych was born on June 30, 1907, in Lviv. Involved in the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists during the interwar period, he served as a deputy commander of a German-aligned battalion in 1941. In 1943, he became the commander of the UPA during the period of mass murders of the Polish population in the Eastern Borderlands. He died near Lviv in 1950 during an encounter with NKWD forces.

Oleh Olzhych was born in 1907 in Zhytomyr. An archaeologist and activist in the more moderate Melnyk faction of the OUN, he lectured at Harvard University before the war. In 1941, he helped organize the Ukrainian National Council in Kyiv. He died in 1944 while imprisoned by the Gestapo in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp.