Polish right-wing MPs appeal to Tusk for Independence Day march in Lviv
Twenty-one Polish parliamentarians from right-wing and ultra-right parties signed an appeal to Prime Minister Donald Tusk calling for an official "Polish Independence March" through Lviv on November 11. The initiative, authored by PiS deputy Dariusz Matecki, has drawn sharp criticism from a Lviv civic group of Ukrainian descendants of Polish repressions and from Polish commentators, while Ukrainian authorities had not yet commented at the time of reporting.
Key points
- 21 Polish MPs signed the appeal to PM Donald Tusk, authored by PiS deputy Dariusz Matecki.
- The march is proposed for November 11, Poland's Independence Day.
- Signatories include Jarosław Kaczyński (PiS), Grzegorz Braun (Konfederacja Korony Polskiej), and former PM Mateusz Morawiecki (Rozwoj Plus).
- Signatories argue Polish state support for ethnic Poles in Ukraine is insufficient and that Polish institutions co-finance Ukraine's August 24 events.
- Konfederacja co-chair Krzysztof Bosak called the idea "quite strange," saying a march meant to mark Polish Independence Day in Ukraine should be held in Kyiv.
- Lviv's "Memory and Justice" group of Ukrainian descendants of Polish repressions called the initiative a political provocation and urged the Polish government to reject it.
- Ukrainian authorities had not commented on the appeal at the time of reporting.
Why it matters
The appeal is notable for uniting Polish right-wing and ultra-right parties — including PiS, Konfederacja, Konfederacja Korony Polskiej, and Rozwoj Plus — in a single cross-party initiative, described in reporting as likely the first such joint action by these forces. By proposing a Polish patriotic march in Lviv, a city with deep and painful Polish-Ukrainian historical memory, the initiative touches raw nerves in bilateral relations already strained by disputes over UPA monuments and the Polish president's decision to strip Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle. The signatories also use the appeal to air grievances about the level of Polish state support for ethnic Poles in Ukraine.
What happened
Twenty-one Polish deputies from right-wing and ultra-right parties signed an appeal addressed to Prime Minister Donald Tusk calling for the Polish government to organize an official Independence Day celebration in Lviv on November 11, including a "Polish Independence March" through the city's streets. The letter, authored by PiS deputy Dariusz Matecki, frames the march as an expression of remembrance and solidarity with Poles living in Ukraine. Signatories include Jarosław Kaczyński, Grzegorz Braun, and former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. The signatories argue that assistance from the Polish state to ethnic Poles in Ukraine is insufficient and contrast it with Polish local-government and state financing of Ukrainian Independence Day events on August 24. They ask the Polish government to approach Ukrainian authorities for permission to hold the march. Vice-Marshal of the Sejm and Konfederacja co-chair Krzysztof Bosak publicly criticized the idea as "quite strange," suggesting a march in Kyiv would be more appropriate and that the appeal should have been directed at Ukrainian institutions. Many Polish politicians and experts commenting in Polish media called the appeal "madness" and a Russian provocation. The Lviv civic organization "Memory and Justice – Association of Descendants of Ukrainian Victims of Polish Repressions" issued a statement calling the initiative a political provocation with nothing to do with good neighborly relations and called on the Polish government to reject it. Ukrainian authorities had not commented on the appeal at the time of reporting.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All four supplied sources are Ukrainian-language media outlets. They frame the initiative as a provocative move by Polish right-wing politicians directed at Lviv, emphasizing the cross-party unity on the Polish right and the political profiles of the leading signatories. Ukrainian reporting highlights statements of opposition from a Lviv civic group representing descendants of Ukrainian victims of Polish repressions, and places the appeal in the context of recent UPA-monument and Order of the White Eagle disputes between Warsaw and Kyiv. The sources also note the absence of any official Ukrainian government response to the initiative at the time of reporting.
Where reporting differs
Sources differ on the precise location of the UPA monument damaged by Grzegorz Braun: one Ukrainian source places it in the village of Białystok in Hrubieszów County, while other reporting identifies it as being in Gmina Dołhobyczów.
Background
One of the signatories, Grzegorz Braun, is under Polish investigation after being filmed damaging a UPA soldiers' monument in Lublin Voivodeship; Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski publicly said a criminal case should be opened against Braun over the destruction. Earlier in the year, Polish President Karol Nawrocki announced he was stripping Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle in response to a Ukrainian decree naming a military unit after "UPA heroes"; Zelenskyy sent the order back via Nova Poshta, and the two leaders later met at the NATO summit in July. A Lviv civic group representing descendants of Ukrainian victims of Polish repressions has publicly opposed the proposed march as a political provocation.