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{{short description|Paramilitary wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists}}
{{Cleanup|date=March 2008}}
{{for|the 2022 partisan movement|Ukrainian resistance during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine}}
{{ Infobox_War_Faction
|name= Ukrainian Insurgent Army {{distinguish|Ukrainian People's Revolutionary Army|Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine|Ukrainian People's Army}}
{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox War Faction
| name = Ukrainian Insurgent Army
| native_name = Українська повстанська армія
| war = ]
| image = ]
| caption = ]
| active = {{ubl|14 October 1942–1949|1949–1956 (localized)}}
| ideology = {{ubl|]|]|]|]|]|] (factions)}}
| leaders = {{ubl|]|Vasyl Ivakhiv|]|]|]}}
| area = {{ubl|]|]|]|]||]}}
| partof = ]–]
| size = 20,000–200,000 (estimated) {{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}
| allies = * {{flag|Nazi Germany}}&nbsp;<small>(varied)</small>
| opponents = * {{flag|Soviet Union|1936}}
* {{flag|Nazi Germany|1935}}&nbsp;<small>(varied)</small>
* {{flag|Polish Underground State}}
* {{flagdeco|Poland|1928}} ]
| battles =
}}
The '''Ukrainian Insurgent Army''' ({{langx|uk|Українська повстанська армія, УПА|translit=Ukrayins'ka Povstans'ka Armiia}}, abbreviated '''UPA''') was a ] ] and ] formation founded by the ] on 14 October 1942.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Arad |first1=Yitzhak |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NH0K92ZcNN0C |title=In the Shadow of the Red Banner: Soviet Jews in the War Against Nazi Germany |last2=Arad |first2=Yitzchak |date=2010 |publisher=Gefen Publishing House Ltd |isbn=978-965-229-487-6 |page=189 |language=en |quote=The first UPA unit was officially established on October 14, 1942. …The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrainska Povstanska Armia-UPA) was an arm of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (Orhanizatsia Ukrainskikh Nationalistiv – OUN). |author-link=Yitzhak Arad}}</ref> During ], it was engaged in ]. However, the UPA later launched ] warfare against ], the ],<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kondor |first1=Katherine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UMnOEAAAQBAJ&dq=in+armed+confrontation+against+both+Nazi+and+Soviet+forces+and+is+infamous&pg=PA2018-IA3 |title=The Routledge Handbook of Far-Right Extremism in Europe |last2=Littler |first2=Mark |date=2023 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-000-89703-6 |pages=22 |language=en}}</ref> and both the ] and ].<ref>{{Cite journal |at=p. 14 |doi=10.5195/cbp.2011.164 |quote=While anti-German sentiments were widespread, according to captured activists, at the time of the Third Extraordinary Congress of the OUN(b), held in August 1943, its anti-German declarations were intended to mobilize support against the Soviets, and stayed mostly on the paper.|title=The OUN, the UPA and the Holocaust: A Study in the Manufacturing of Historical Myths |journal=The Carl Beck Papers in Russian and East European Studies |issue=2107 |year=2011 |last1=Rudling |first1=Per A.|doi-access=free }}</ref> It conducted the ], which are recognized by Poland as a ].


The goal of the ] (OUN) was to drive out occupying powers in a national revolution and set up an independent government headed by a dictator; OUN accepted violence as a political tool against enemies of their cause.<ref name="IEU">Myroslav Yurkevich, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, ''This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 3 (1993).''</ref> In order to achieve this goal, a number of partisan units were formed, merged into a single structure in the form of the UPA,{{refn|OUN-UPA was a terrorist organization,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Snyder |first=Timothy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xSpEynLxJ1MC |title=The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569–1999 |date=2004 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-10586-5 |page= |quote=The OUN was an illegal, conspirational, and terrorist organization bound to destroy the status quo. The OUN counted on German help ... Germany was the only possible ally.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Katchanovski |first=Ivan |date=2013 |title=The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, and the Nazi Genocide in Ukraine |url=https://www.academia.edu/6414323 |journal=Paper Presented at the "Collaboration in Eastern Europe During World War II and the Holocaust" Conference, Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, United States Holocaust MemorialMuseum & Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies |quote=The OUN and the UPA can both be classified as terrorist organizations because their actions correspond to academic definitions of terrorism as the use of violence against civilians by non-state actors in order to intimidate and to achieve political goals.}}</ref> relying on terrorist tactics and collaboration with ] that favoured the ] (OUN) at the expense of more moderate Ukrainian organizations, such as the ]; not all UPA soldiers were members of the OUN or shared OUN's ideology. UPA was also responsible for the large-scale ] of Poles, such as with the ], the mass murders of Jews, such as the ],<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Delphine |first=Bechtel |url=https://www.ushmm.org/m/pdfs/20130500-holocaust-in-ukraine.pdf |title=The Holocaust in Ukraine – New Sources and Perspectives – The 1941 pogroms as represented in Western Ukrainian historiography and memorial culture |publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. |year=2013 |pages=3, 6 |quote=Some Ukrainian immigrant circles in Canada, the United States, and Germany had been active for decades in trying to suppress the topic and reacted to any testimony about Ukrainian anti-Jewish violence with virulent diatribes against what they dismissed as 'Jewish propaganda' ... the Ukrainian Insurrectional Army (UPA), which was responsible for ethnic 'cleansing' actions against Poles and Jews in Volhynia and Galicia.}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=Plokhy |first=Serhii |url=https://wcfia.harvard.edu/publications/gates-europe-history-ukraine |title=The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine |date=2015 |publisher=Basic Books |location=New York |pages=320 |quote=The Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which had close to 100,000 soldiers at its height in the summer of 1944, was fighting behind the Soviet lines, disrupting Red Army communications and attacking units farther from the front ... Among the UPA's major successes was the killing of a leading Soviet commander, General Nikolai Vatutin. On 29 February 1944, UPA fighters ambushed and wounded Vatutin as he was returning from a meeting with subordinates in Rivne, the former capital of the Reichskommissariat Ukraine. He died in Kyiv in mid-April. Khrushchev, who attended Vatutin's funeral, buried his friend in the government center of Kyiv ... not all the UPA fighters shared the nationalist ideology or belonged to the OUN. |author-link=Serhii Plokhy}}</ref> as well as of Ukrainians during the World War II and post-war anti-Soviet terror campaign in western Ukraine.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last1=Friedman |first1=Philip |url=http://archive.org/details/roadstoextinctio00frie |title=Roads to Extinction: Essays on the Holocaust |last2=Friedman |first2=Ada June |date=1980 |location=New York|publisher= Conference on Jewish Social Studies: Jewish Publication Society of America |via=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-8276-0170-3 |page=179 |quote=After the outbreak of World War II, the Germans constantly favored the OUN, at the expense of more moderate Ukrainian groups. The extremist Ukrainian nationalist groups then launched a campaign of vilification against moderate leaders, accusing them of various misdeeds ... As early as the spring of 1940, a central Ukrainian committee was organized in Cracow under the chairmanship of Volodimir Kubiovitch ... Shortly before the outbreak of Russo-German hostilities, the Germans, through Colonel Erwin Stolze, of the Abwehr, conducted negotiations with both OUN leaders, Melnyk and Bandera, requesting that they engage in underground activities in the rear of the Soviet armies in the Ukraine.}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Piotrowski|first= Tadeusz |url=http://archive.org/details/polandsholocaust00piot |title=Poland's Holocaust |date=1998 |publisher=McFarland |via=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7864-0371-4 |pages=224, 233, 234 |quote=... after the massive exodus of the Polish people created a hiatus in the flow of requisitions, the Germans decided to stop the UPA terrorist attacks against civilians ... These anti-Jewish actions were carried out by the members of the Ukrainian police who eventually joined the UPA ... By October (1944), all of Eastern Poland lay in Soviet hands. As the German army began its withdrawal, the UPA began to attack its rearguard and seize its equipment. The Germans reacted with raids on UPA positions. On July 15, 1944, the Ukrainian Supreme Liberation Council (Ukrainska Holovna Vyzvolna Rada, or UHVR, an OUN-B outfit) was formed and, at the end of that month, signed an agreement with the Germans for a unified front against the Soviet threat. This ended the UPA attacks as well as the German countermeasures. In exchange for diversionary activities in the rear of the Soviet front, Germans began providing the Ukrainian underground with supplies, arms, and training materials. |author-link=Tadeusz Piotrowski (sociologist)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Katchanovski|first=Ivan |date=2015 |title=Terrorists or national heroes? Politics and perceptions of the OUN and the UPA in Ukraine |url=https://www.academia.edu/16854200 |journal=Communist and Post-Communist Studies – Paper Prepared for Presentation at the Annual Conference of the Canadian Political Science Association, Montreal, June 1–3, 2010 |volume=48 |issue=2–3 |page=15 |doi=10.1016/j.postcomstud.2015.06.006 |issn=0967-067X |quote=However, historical studies and archival documents show that the OUN relied on terrorism and collaborated with Nazi Germany in the beginning of World War II. The OUN-B (Stepan Bandera faction) by means of its control over the UPA masterminded a campaign of ethnic cleansing of Poles in Volhynia during the war and mounted an anti-Soviet terror campaign in Western Ukraine after the war. These nationalist organizations, based mostly in Western Ukraine, primarily, in Galicia, were also involved in mass murder of Jews during World War II. The 2009 Kyiv International Institute of Sociology survey shows that only minorities of the residents of Ukraine have favorable views of the OUN-B and the UPA and deny involvement of these organizations in mass murders of Ukrainians, Poles, and Jews in the 1940s.}}</ref>|group=nb}} which was created on 14 October 1942. From February 1943, the organization fought against the Germans in ] and ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Piotrowski |first=Tadeusz |url=http://archive.org/details/polandsholocaust00piot |title=Poland's holocaust |date=1998 |publisher=McFarland |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7864-0371-4 |page=234 |quote=By October (1944), all of Eastern Poland lay in Soviet hands. As the German army began its withdrawal, the UPA began to attack its rearguard and seize its equipment. The Germans reacted with raids on UPA positions. On July 15, 1944, the Ukrainian Supreme Liberation Council (Ukrainska Holovna Vyzvolna Rada, or UHVR, an OUN-B outfit) was formed and, at the end of that month, signed an agreement with the Germans for a unified front against the Soviet threat. This ended the UPA attacks as well as the German countermeasures. In exchange for diversionary activities in the rear of the Soviet front, Germans began providing the Ukrainian underground with supplies, arms, and training materials}}</ref> At the same time, its forces fought an evenly matched war against the Polish resistance,<ref name=":2">Timothy Snyder. ''The reconstruction of nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569–1999''. Yale University Press. 2003. pp. 175–178.</ref> during which the UPA carried out ],<ref name="Le Monde">{{cite web|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/01/12/stepan-bandera-the-ukrainian-anti-hero-glorified-following-the-russian-invasion_6011401_4.html|title=Stepan Bandera, the Ukrainian anti-hero glorified following the Russian invasion|website=] |date=12 January 2023|access-date=1 May 2024}}</ref> resulting in between 50,000 and 100,000 deaths.<ref name=":0a">{{Cite journal |last=Motyka |first=Grzegorz |date=2016 |title=Czy zbrodnia wołyńsko-galicyjska 1943–1945 była ludobójstwem |url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=509529 |journal=Rocznik Polsko-Niemiecki / Deutsch-Polnisches Jahrbuch |language=Polish |volume=2 |issue=24 |pages=45–71 |doi=10.35757/RPN.2016.24.15 |issn=1230-4360 |quote=|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>Aleksander V. Prusin. ''Ethnic Cleansing: Poles from Western Ukraine''. In: Matthew J. Gibney, Randall Hansen. Immigration and asylum: from 1900 to the present. Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO. 2005. pp. 204–205.</ref><ref>]. ''"The Ukrainian National Revolution" of 1941. Discourse and Practice of a Fascist Movement''. Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History. Vol. 12/No. 1 (Winter 2011). p. 83.</ref> Soviet ] units fought against the UPA, which led armed resistance against Soviets until 1949. On the territory of ], the UPA tried to prevent the ] from western Galicia to the Soviet Union until 1947.<ref name=":2" />
|war= ]


The UPA was a decentralized movement widespread throughout Ukraine, divided into three operational regions; each region followed a somewhat different agenda, given the circumstances of a constantly moving front line and a double threat from Soviet and Nazi opponents.<ref>{{cite book |last=Snyder |first=Timothy |date=2012 |title=Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin |publisher=Basic Books}}</ref> The UPA was formally disbanded in early September 1949, but some of its units continued operations until late 1956. Officially, the UPA's last military engagement occurred in October 1956, when remnants of the group fought on the Hungarian border region in support of ].<ref>Logusz, Michael O. (1997). Galicia Division: The Waffen-SS 14th Grenadier Division 1943–1945. p. 49.</ref> In March 2019, surviving UPA members were officially granted the status of veterans by the ].<ref name="veteransUK38171U" />
|image=]
|caption=Flag of the UPA


== Organization ==
|active= 1943<ref></ref>-1949 <ref> Encyclopedia of Ukraine</ref>
]
The UPA's command structure overlapped with that of the OUN-B—local OUN and UPA leaders were frequently the same person.{{Sfn|Zhukov|2007|pp=442–443}} The OUN's military referents were the superiors of UPA unit commanders.{{Sfn|Motyka|2006|pp=138–139}} The UPA was established in Volhynia and initially limited its activities to this region. Its first commander was the OUN military referent for Volhynia and Polesie, Vasily Ivachiv. In July, the UPA Supreme Command was organized with ] at its head.{{Sfn|Motyka|2006|p=139}}


Organizationally, the UPA was divided into regions. UPA West operated in ];<ref name="auto">Петро Мірчук, Українська Повстанська Армія. 1942–1952. Мюнхен, 1953. – 233–234 ст.</ref> UPA South, in the centre-southern regions of ], parts of ], and parts of ] and ];<ref name="auto" /> UPA North, in the northern regions of ], ], and parts of Kiev and Zhytomyr regions;<ref name="auto" /> in ], the UPA fled north, as ] dictatorship had executed a number of the UPA's participants. The members of UPA East joined other UPA units in ] and in ].<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 September 2011 |title=БОРОТЬБА УКРАЇНСЬКОГО НАРОДУ НА СХІДНОУКРАЇНСЬКИХ ЗЕМЛЯХ 1941–1944 (Спомини очевидця і учасника) |url=https://bandera.lviv.ua/borotba-ukrajinskoho-narodu-na-shidnoukrajinskyh-zemljah-1941-1944-spomyny-ochevydcja-y-uchasnyka/ |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206100754/https://bandera.lviv.ua/borotba-ukrajinskoho-narodu-na-shidnoukrajinskyh-zemljah-1941-1944-spomyny-ochevydcja-y-uchasnyka/ |archive-date=February 6, 2023 |website=Bandera.lviv.ua :: Бібліотека націоналіста}}</ref>
|leaders= Vasyl Ivakhiv, ], ], ]


In November 1943, the UPA adopted a new structure, creating a Main Military Headquarters and the General Staff. ] headed the HQ, while ] became chief of staff.{{Sfn|Motyka|2006|pp=139–140}} The General Staff consisted of operations, intelligence, logistics, personnel, training, political education, and military inspectors departments.{{Sfn|Motyka|2006|p=140}} In addition to the three regions named above, there was also an attempt to create a UPA-East region, including Kiev and Zhytomyr regions, but the project never came to fruition. Similarly, the UPA-South region ceased to exist in the summer of 1944, but continued to appear in documents.{{Sfn|Motyka|2006|p=140}} Three military schools for low-level command staff were also established.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}
|area= primarily in territories of prewar ], ] and ] populated with Ukrainian majority, with raids in 1943-45 to Eastern regions of ]


|strength= Estimated armed personnel: mid 1943 - 15,000<ref name> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, [http://www.history.org.ua/oun_upa/oun/index.htm ''Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army'' </ref>; late 1943 - 20,000<ref name> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, [http://www.history.org.ua/oun_upa/oun/index.htm ''Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army'' </ref> ; spring 1944 - 25,000 - 35,000<ref name> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, [http://www.history.org.ua/oun_upa/oun/index.htm ''Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army'' </ref>; spring 1946 - 3,500 - 5,000<ref> Ivan Bilas. Repressive-punishment system in Ukraine. 1917-1953 Vol.2 Kyiv Lybid-Viysko Ukrainy, 1994 ISBN 5-325-00599-5</ref> UPA's largest unit type, the '']'', consisting of 500–700 soldiers,<ref name="UPA12_p169">Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, , p. 169</ref> was equivalent to a ], and its smallest unit, the ''rii'' (literally bee swarm), with eight to ten soldiers,<ref name="UPA12_p169" /> equivalent to a ].{{Sfn|Zhukov|2007|p=443}} Occasionally, and particularly in Volyn, during some operations three or more kurins would unite and form a ''zahin'' or ].<ref name="UPA12_p169" /> Organizational methods were borrowed and adapted from the German, Polish and Soviet military, while UPA units based their training on a modified ] field unit manual.{{Sfn|Zhukov|2007|pp=442–443}}


In terms of UPA soldiers' social background, 60 percent were peasants of low to moderate means, 20 to 25 percent were from the working class (primarily from the rural lumber and food industries), and 15 percent were members of the ] (students, urban professionals). The latter group provided a large portion of the UPA's military trainers and officer corps.{{Sfn|Zhukov|2007|p=444}} The number of UPA fighters varied: a German ] report from November 1943 estimated that the UPA had 20,000 soldiers; other estimates at that time placed the number at 40,000.<ref name="Magosci">{{cite book|last=Magoscy |first=R. |title=A History of Ukraine |location=Toronto |publisher=] |year=1996}}</ref> By the summer of 1944, estimates of UPA membership varied from 25,000 to 30,000 fighters,<ref>{{cite book|first=Petro |last=Sodol |title=Ukrainian Insurgent Army 1943–1949 |date=1994 |page=28}}</ref> up to 100,000,<ref name="Magosci" /><ref>{{cite book|first=John |last=Armstrong |date=1963 |title=Ukrainian Nationalism |location=New York |publisher=] |pages=156}}</ref><ref name="Stiftung 2022">{{cite web |author1=Grzegorz Rossoliński-Liebe |author2=Bastiaan Willems | title=Putin's Abuse of History: Ukrainian 'Nazis', 'Genocide' and a Fake Threat Scenario | website=L.I.S.A. Science Portal Gerda Henkel Foundation| date=24 February 2022 | url=https://lisa.gerda-henkel-stiftung.de/putins_abuse_of_history?language=en|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001183932/https://lisa.gerda-henkel-stiftung.de/putins_abuse_of_history?language=en|archive-date=October 1, 2022 | access-date=9 December 2022}}</ref> or even 200,000 soldiers.{{sfn|Taubman|2004|p=193}}
|allies= temporary arrangements with Nazi Germany


=== Structure ===
|opponents= ] ], the ] ],
The Ukrainian Insurgent Army was structured into three units:<ref name="auto"/>
], the ] ], ]
{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|
|battles= mainly guerrilla activity
# ''']'''<br />Regions: ], ].
#* '''Military District "Turiv"'''<br />Commander – Maj. Rudyj.<br />Squads: "Bohun", "Pomsta Polissja", "Nalyvajko".
#* '''Military District "Zahrava"'''<br />Commander – Ptashka (Sylvester Zatovkanjuk).<br />Squads: "Konovaletsj", "Enej", "Dubovyj", "Oleh".
#* '''Military District " Volhynia-South"'''<br />Commander – Bereza.<br />Squads: "Kruk", "H.".
# ''']'''<br />Regions: ], ], ], ].
#* '''Military District "Lysonja"'''<br />Commander – Maj. Hrim, V.<br />Kurins: "Holodnojarci", "Burlaky", "Lisovyky", "Rubachi", "Bujni", "Holky".
#* '''Military District "Hoverlja"'''<br />Commander – Maj. Stepovyj (from 1945 – Major Hmara).<br />Kurins: "Bukovynsjkyj", "Peremoha", "Hajdamaky", "Huculjskyj", "Karpatsjkyj".
#* '''Military District "Black Forest"'''<br />Commander – Col. Rizun-Hrehit (Mykola Andrusjak).<br />Kurins: "Smertonosci", "Pidkarpatsjkyj", "Dzvony", "Syvulja", "Dovbush", "Beskyd", "Menyky".
#* '''Military District "Makivka"'''<br />Commander – Maj. Kozak.<br />Kurins: "Ljvy", "Bulava", "Zubry", "Letuny", "Zhuravli", "Bojky of Chmelnytsjkyj", "Basejn".
#* '''Military District "Buh"'''<br />Commander – Col. Voronnyj<br />Kurins: "Druzhynnyky", "Halajda", "Kochovyky", "Perejaslavy", "Tyhry", "Perebyjnis"
#* '''Military District "Sjan"'''<br />Commander – Orest<br />Kurins: "Vovky", "Menyky", Kurin of Ren, Kurin of Eugene.
# '''UPA-South'''<br />Regions: ], ], southern region of ], southern regions of Ukraine,<br />and especially in cities ], ], ], ], ].
#* '''Military District "Cholodnyj Jar"'''<br />Commander – Kost'.<br />Kurins: Kurin of Sabljuk, Kurin of Dovbush.
#* '''Military District "Umanj"'''<br />Commander – Ostap.<br />Kurins: Kurin of Dovbenko, Kurin of Buvalyj, Kurin of Andrij-Shum.
#* '''Military District "Vinnytsja"'''<br />Commander – Jasen.<br />Kurins: Kurin of Storchan, Kurin of Mamaj, Kurin of Burevij.
}} }}
The fourth region, UPA-East, was planned, but never created.{{Sfn|Motyka|2006|p=140}}


=== Greeting ===
The '''Ukrainian Insurgent Army''' ({{lang-ua|Українська Повстанська Армія, '''''U'''krayins’ka '''P'''ovstans’ka '''A'''rmiya'', '''UPA'''}}) was a Ukrainian military formation<ref> Encyclopedia of Ukraine</ref> formed at spring-summer 1943<ref></ref> initially in ] (located in north-western Ukraine). <!-- To protect their interests, the Ukrainians started forming resistance groups that grew into a ]. --> UPA was the ] branch of the ] (OUN)<!-- , a political movement that espoused violence as a means for achieving Ukrainian independence --> and formed to be the base for a future Ukrainian Army in Ukrainian Independent State. UPA was responsible for the ] of much of western Ukraine's Polish population. The UPA also cooperated at times with Germany. During its existence, the UPA fought a large variety of military forces, including Nazi Germany, the Polish underground army (Armia Krajowa), and Soviet forces including Soviet partisans, the Red Army, NKVD, SMERSH, NKGB, MVD.
], ], Ukraine]]
The greeting ''"]"'' ({{lang|uk-latn|Slava Ukrayini! Heroiam slava!}}) was used among members of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).<ref>Ivan Katchanovski (2004). "". The Journal of Slavic Military Studies. p. 214.</ref>


=== Anthem ===
The anthem of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army was called the '']'', also known as ''We were born in a great hour'' ({{langx|uk|Зродились ми великої години}}). The song, written by Oles Babiy, was officially adopted by the leadership of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists in 1932.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ua-orden.org/simvolika-ukra%D1%97nskix-nacionalistiv.html |script-title=uk:Символіка Українських Націоналістів |trans-title=The symbolism of Ukrainian Nationalists |language=uk |publisher=Virtual museum of Ukrainian phaleristics |date=22 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208025621/http://ua-orden.org/simvolika-ukra%D1%97nskix-nacionalistiv.html |archive-date=8 December 2013}}</ref> The organization was a successor of the ], whose anthem was "]". Leaders of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, ] and ], were founding members of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. For this reason, "Chervona Kalyna" was also used by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edufuture.biz/index.php?title=12._%D0%A1%D1%82%D1%80%D1%96%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%86%D1%8C%D0%BA%D1%96_%D0%BF%D1%96%D1%81%D0%BD%D1%96._%C2%AB%D0%9E%D0%B9_%D1%83_%D0%BB%D1%83%D0%B7%D1%96_%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%85%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%8F%C2%BB_%D0%A1._%D0%A7%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%86%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE_%D1%96_%D0%93._%D0%A2%D1%80%D1%83%D1%85%D0%B0,_%C2%AB%D0%93%D0%B5%D0%B9,_%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%BD%D0%BE_%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%BE%C2%BB_%D0%91._%D0%9B%D0%B5%D0%BF%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE |title=Avramenko, O.M., Shabelnykova, L.P. ''Chapter 12. Riflemen songs.'' Ukrainian literature. Sixth grade. (textbook) |language=ru |publisher=School.xvatit.com |access-date=15 October 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404102007/https://edufuture.biz/index.php?title=12._%D0%A1%D1%82%D1%80%D1%96%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%86%D1%8C%D0%BA%D1%96_%D0%BF%D1%96%D1%81%D0%BD%D1%96._%C2%AB%D0%9E%D0%B9_%D1%83_%D0%BB%D1%83%D0%B7%D1%96_%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%85%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%8F%C2%BB_%D0%A1._%D0%A7%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%86%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE_%D1%96_%D0%93._%D0%A2%D1%80%D1%83%D1%85%D0%B0,_%C2%AB%D0%93%D0%B5%D0%B9,_%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%BD%D0%BE_%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%BE%C2%BB_%D0%91._%D0%9B%D0%B5%D0%BF%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE|archive-date=April 4, 2023}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=August 2023}}


=== Flag ===
<!--The UPA used the Ukrainian word "Povstantsi" in order to differentiate itself from "Partisans", which was a term used by communist underground forces fighting the ] during ].OR -->
The flag of the UPA was a red-and-black banner,<ref name=":1" /> which continues to be a symbol of the Ukrainian nationalist movement. The colors of the flag symbolize "red Ukrainian blood spilled on the black Ukrainian earth.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://donbass.comments.ua/news/91450-svobodovtsi-poslali-lukyanchenko.html |title="Свободовцы" послали Лукьянченко красно-черный флаг – Донбасс.comments.ua |publisher=Donetsk.comments.ua |access-date=4 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413171522/http://donbass.comments.ua/news/91450-svobodovtsi-poslali-lukyanchenko.html |archive-date=13 April 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Use of the flag is also a "sign of the stubborn endurance of the Ukrainian national idea even under the grimmest conditions."<ref name=":1">{{cite news|first=Christian |last=Carlyl |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/05/09/in_a_divided_ukraine_even_victory_over_hitler_isn_t_what_it_used_to_be |title=In a Divided Ukraine, Even Victory Over Hitler Isn't What It Used to Be |work=Foreign Policy |date=9 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512203523/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/05/09/in_a_divided_ukraine_even_victory_over_hitler_isn_t_what_it_used_to_be |archive-date=12 May 2014}}</ref>


=== Awards ===
After ], UPA ] continued fighting against ] until 1947 and the ] until the 1949. It was especially strong in the ] and ] regions until spring 1946. According to Canadian Ukrainian historian, UPA was unique among practically all resistance movements in Nazi-occupied Europe in that it had no significant foreign support. Its growth and strength reflected its popularity among the Ukrainian people.<ref name="Subtelny474">Subtelny, p. 474 {{cite book
* ]
|title= Ukraine: A History
* ]
|last= Subtelny
|first= Orest
|authorlink= Orest Subtelny
|year= 1988
|publisher= University of Toronto Press
|location= Toronto
|isbn= 0802083900
|language= English
|pages= 800
}}</ref>
While core majority peoples of ], with exempt of Western region, assume Ukrainian nationalists (OUN/UPA) as collaborators of Germans occupants. , p. 180</ref>


== Military ranks ==
<small>''(Note: Another UPA also existed in ]. It was nominally formed earlier in late November 1941 before initially known as the ] and had no connections with the ](B) but tied with OUN(M) and OUN(UNR). This UPA, led by ] & had links to the ] in exile. It was renamed to the ] in July 1943 before being later partially and forcibly absorbed and disbanded by the UPA of the OUN(B). )''</small>
The UPA made use of a dual rank system that included functional command position designations and traditional ]s. The functional system was developed due to an acute shortage of qualified and politically reliable officers during the early stages of organization.<ref>Major Petro R. Sodol, USA (ret.). ''UPA: They Fought Hitler and Stalin''. New York 1987. p. 34</ref>


{|class="wikitable" style="margin:auto; text-align:center;"
==Background==
|-
;1941<br>
|] || ] || ] || ] || ] || ] || ] || ]
In Memorandum from August, 14 1941 OUN (B) proposed to Germans to create an Ukrainian Army “which join the German army … until last will win”, if Germans will recognize allied Ukrainian independent state<ref>Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army Chapter 1 p.89</ref> Ukrainian Army planned to be formed on the base of DUN (detachments of Ukrainian nationalists - druzhyny ukrainskykh natsinalistiv) and specifically on the base of “Ukrainian legion” currently composed from two battalions (kurins) “Nachtigal” and “Roland” which by the time were included in Abwehr special regiment “Brandenburg-800”. However such propositions were not adopted by Germans. Moreover, by mid of September 1941 Germans started a repression campaign against most proactive OUN members which has awesome results. On First OUN Conference which held at the beginning of October 1941 was adopted an OUN strategy for future, which expect moving some part of organizational structure to underground, no conflicts with Germans and no anti-Germans propaganda activities.<ref>Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army Chapter 2 P.92</ref> At same time in some areas OUN tried to establish own network in Auxiliary Police. By end of November 1941 remains of “Ukrainian Legion” (approximately 650 persons) signed contract for military service with Germans and transferred to Germany for military training for further usage at Eastern Front. At same time (end of November 1941) Germans started second wave of repression at ] specially targeted on OUN (B) members. However, most of captured OUN activists at ] belong to OUN (M) wing. <br>
|-
;1942<br>
|<small>Supreme<br />commander</small> || <small>Regional<br />commander</small> || <small>Division<br />(military district)<br />commander</small> || <small>Brigade<br />(tactical sector)<br />commander</small> || <small>Battalion<br />commander</small> || <small>Company<br />commander</small> || <small>Platoon leader</small> || <small>Squad leader</small>
In April 1942 at Second OUN(B) Conference was adopted policy of “creation, build-up and development of own political and future military forces”, “action against own partisan activity inflicted by Moscow”, main enemy to fight – Soviet partisans. German policy was criticized, but no more.<ref>Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army Chapter 2 P.95-97.</ref> July 1942 OUN (B) issued a statement in which main enemy was mentioned “Moscow”, while Germans was ephemerally criticized for their policy concerning Ukrainian independent state. Till December 1942 OUN(B) main activity was propaganda and own network development, at same time any actions against Germans mentioned as undesirable and provocative. At beginning of December 1942 near Lviv was held “Military conference of OUN(B)” which result was an adopted a speed-up the build-up process for creation of Military forces of OUN(B). Conference Statement underlined what “all combat capable population must stand straight under OUN banners for fight against dreadful bolsheviks enemy”. From beginning of December 1942 till beginning of January 1943 Germans relocated to ] disbanded “Ukrainian Legion” which used as battalion in 201 Wehrmacht Guard (Defense) Division at Belarus against ] . During service from May till October 1942 Ukrainian battalion in 201 Wehrmacht Guard (Defense) were Shukhevych was deputy commander lost 49 killed and 40 wounded (all of them in 5 clashes with soviet partisans) while claimed more than 2000 killed soviet partisans. Later most of them joined the UPA or Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (galizische Nr.1) at spring 1943.<ref>Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army Chapter 1,2,3 </ref>
|}


UPA rank structure consisted of at least seven commissioned officer ranks, four non-commissioned officer ranks, and two soldier ranks. The hierarchical order of known ranks and their approximate U.S. Army equivalent is as follows:<ref>Major Petro R. Sodol, USA (ret.). ''UPA: They Fought Hitler and Stalin''. New York 1987. p. 36</ref>
==Organization of UPA==
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; width:400px; text-align:left; font-size:85%;"
|-
! scope="col" style="width:200px" | UPA RANKS
! scope="col" | US ARMY EQUIVALENTS
|-
| Heneral-Khorunzhyj || Brigadier General
|-
| Polkovnyk || Colonel
|-
| Pidpolkovnyk || Lieutenant Colonel
|-
| Major || Major
|-
| Sotnyk || Captain
|-
| Poruchnyk || First Lieutenant
|-
| Khorunzhyj || Second Lieutenant
|-
| Starshyj Bulavnyj || Master Sergeant
|-
| Bulavnyj || Sergeant First Class
|-
| Starshyj Vistun || Staff Sergeant
|-
| Vistun || Sergeant
|-
| Starshyj Strilets || Private First Class
|-
| Strilets || Private
|}


The rank scheme provided for three more higher general officer ranks: Heneral-Poruchnyk (Major General), Heneral-Polkovnyk (Lieutenant General), and Heneral-Pikhoty (General with Four Stars).{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}
]


== Armaments ==
UPA's command structure overlapped with that of the ] in a sophisticated and highly centralized way. UPA was responsible for operations while the OUN was in charge of administrative duties; each had their own chain of command. The six main departments were military, political, security service, mobilization, supply, and the Ukrainian Red Cross. There was overlap between OUN and UPA posts and the local OUN and UPA leader were frequently the same person. Organizational methods were borrowed and adapted from German, Polish and Soviet armed forces, while UPA units trained based on a modified Red Army field unit manual.<ref name="Zhukov"> [http://yurizhukov.com/doc/070900_Zhukov_UPA_Final.pdf Yuri Zhukov, "Examining the Authoritarian
Initially, the UPA used weapons collected from the battlefields of 1939 and 1941.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} Later, they bought weapons from peasants and individual soldiers or captured them in combat. Some light weapons were also brought by deserting ]. For the most part, the UPA used light infantry weapons of Soviet and, to a lesser extent, German origin (for which ammunition was less readily obtainable). In 1944, German units armed the UPA directly with captured Soviet arms. Many ]s were equipped with light ] and ] ]. During large-scale operations in 1943–1944, insurgent forces also used artillery (] and ]).<ref name=motyka148>Motyka, p. 148</ref> In 1943 a light Hungarian tank was used in Volhynia.<ref name=motyka148 /><ref>However it is not true that UPA had a Soviet ] tank.</ref>
Model of Counter-insurgency: The Soviet Campaign Against the Ukrainian Insurgent Army", ''Small Wars and Insurgencies'', v.18, no. 3, pp.439-466] </ref> The General Staff consisted of operations, intelligence, training, logistics, personnel and political education departments. UPA's largest units, ''Kurins'', consisting of 500-700 soldiers , p. 169</ref> were equivalent to ] in a regular army, and its smallest units, ''Riys'', with 8-10 soldiers , p. 169</ref> were equivalent to ]s.<ref name="Zhukov"> [http://yurizhukov.com/doc/070900_Zhukov_UPA_Final.pdf Yuri Zhukov, "Examining the Authoritarian
Model of Counter-insurgency: The Soviet Campaign Against the Ukrainian Insurgent Army", ''Small Wars and Insurgencies'', v.18, no. 3, pp.439-466] </ref> Occasionally, and particularly in Volyn, during some operations three or more ''Kurins'' would unite and form a ''Zahon'' or ] , p. 169</ref>


In 1944, the Soviets captured a ] aircraft and one armored car and one personnel carrier from the UPA; however, it was not stated that they were in operable condition, while no OUN/UPA documents noted the usage of such equipment.<ref>Ivan Bilas. Repressive-punishment system in Ukraine. 1917–1953 Vol.2 Kyiv Lybid-Viysko Ukrainy, 1994 {{ISBN|5-325-00599-5}} p. 585</ref> By the ], the ] had captured 45 artillery pieces (45 and 76.2&nbsp;mm calibres) and 423 ] from the UPA. In attacks against Polish civilians, axes and pikes were used.<ref name=motyka148 /> However, the light infantry weapon was the basic weapon used by the UPA.<ref>{{in lang|uk}} Українська Повстанська Армія – Історія нескорених – Львів, 2007 p. 203</ref>
]UPA's leaders were: Vasyl Ivakhiv (spring – 13 of May 1943), ], ] (January 1944 until 1950)<ref> in Ukrainian-Russian "Zerkalo Nedeli" Magazine</ref> and finally ]. In November 1943, UPA adopted a new structure, creating a Main Military Headquarters and three areas (group} commands: UPA-West, UPA-North and UPA-South. Three military schools for low-level command staff were established.


== Formation ==
UPA's membership is estimated to have consisted of 60% peasants, 20-25% industrial working class most of them from rural lumber and food industries, and 15% from the intelligentsia (students, urban professionals). The latter group provided a large portion of UPA's military trainers and officer corps.<ref name="Zhukov"> [http://yurizhukov.com/doc/070900_Zhukov_UPA_Final.pdf Yuri Zhukov, "Examining the Authoritarian
=== 1941 ===
Model of Counter-insurgency: The Soviet Campaign Against the Ukrainian Insurgent Army", ''Small Wars and Insurgencies'', v.18, no. 3, pp.439-466] </ref> However, according to one of UPA commander data referred to 1944, UPA predominantly composed from peasants (poor and moderate in wealth) from western Ukraine (60% from ] and 30% from in ] and ]). <ref> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, Chapter 12, p. 127 </ref>
]
According to post war claims OUN(B)/UPA by late 1943 and early 1944, the UPA controlled much of the territory of ], outside of the major cities, and was able to organize basic services for the villagers such as schools, hospitals, and the printing of newspapers, while Institute of Ukrainian History by Academy of Sciences of Ukraine mentioned what (]) and ] controlled a significant percentage of territory of ] by early 1944.
The number of UPA fighters varied with time. A German ] report from November 1943 estimated that UPA had 20,000 soldiers;<ref name> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, , p. 188</ref> other estimates at that time placed the number at 40,000.<ref name=Magosci>{{cite book| author=Magoscy, R. | title=A History of Ukraine| location= Toronto | publisher= University of Toronto Press | year = 1996 }}</ref> By the summer of 1944, estimates of UPA membership varied from 25-30 thousand fighters<ref> Petro Sodol - Ukrainian Insurgent Army 1943-1949. Handbook. New – York 1994 p.28 </ref> up to 100,000 soldiers.<ref name=Magosci/>, while last figure assumed as unreal by historians from Institute of Ukrainian History by Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.


In a memorandum from 14 August 1941, the OUN (B) petitioned the Germans to create a Ukrainian Army "which unite with the German Army ... until final victory", in exchange for German recognition of an allied, independent Ukrainian state.<ref>Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army Chapter 1 p. 69</ref> At the beginning of October 1941, during the first OUN Conference, the OUN formulated its future strategy. This called for transferring part of its organizational structure underground, in order to avoid conflict with the Germans. It also refrained from open anti-German propaganda activities.<ref>Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army Chapter 2, p. 92</ref> A captured German document of 25 November 1941 (] O14-USSR) ordered:<blockquote>"It has been ascertained that the Bandera Movement is preparing a revolt in the ] which has as its ultimate aim the establishment of an independent Ukraine. All functionaries of the Bandera Movement must be arrested at once and, after thorough interrogation, are to be liquidated..."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/pdf/NT_Vol-XXXIX.pdf|title=Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal, Nuremberg, 14 November 1945 – 1 October 1946|publisher=The International Military Tribunal|volume=39|year=1949|location=Nuremberg|pages=269–270|access-date=31 March 2016}}</ref></blockquote>
==UPA military gendarmerie and security service (SB) ==
{{more|Sluzhba_Bezbeky}}
According to the plans adopted December 1942 “Military conference of OUN(B)” there will be expected to development of intelligence and counterintelligence service (SB) and military gendarmerie). However should be noted what OUN(B) already has SB which acted since 1941 under command of M.Arsenych. By the 15 of May 1943 order of D.Klaychkivskyy in UPA established “revolutionary tribunals” and military courts, death sentences can be applied for persons since 17 years old. Military gendarmerie of UPA were established in June 1943, amongst other relevant for such service duties, it was responsible for mobilization – because mobilization (in most case non voluntary and even forcible) was a main source of manpower of UPA – man at age 15-50 years. Main activities in 1943 – arrests (and in most case extermination) of suspected “agents of soviets” and OUN(M), disarming of “shuma”- policeman, clashes with Poles and OUN(M) units, etc.
By end of 1943 there was established a disciplinary companies and even concentration camp “Centaur”. Since 1944 military gendarmerie was acted as more separate authority (before if was under directly command by SB), but still under SB order. Most activities in late 1944 targeted to handle a mass desertion from UPA and on mobilization (predominantly forcible) to UPA, with common usage of terror. As for instance, during November 1944 – May 1945 only in one area for “unwillingness to be in UPA” were executed up to 240 persons. Due the heavy losses, and significant shortage of UPA manpower military gendarmerie was liquidated in April 1945. <ref> Військово-польова жандармерія - спеціальний орган Української повстанської армії http://warhistory.ukrlife.org/5_6_02_4.htm </ref>


=== 1942 ===
As regards to the UPA-SB here would be noted the words of one of the OUN(M) commander – “it’s hard to distinct were ended UPA and begins OUN under Bandera…”. Almost same situation with UPA and OUN SB. In 1941-42 main OUN SB activities were targeted “internal threat” – it’s name of OUN (B) for their political opponents (mainly from Melnyk wing of OUN) and those “who act against party line”. <!-- – for instance one of former OUN (B) military detachment commander which, against general directives of Second OUN(B) Conference, began military action against Germans in late 1942, was executed by SB order too specifuc-->.
At the Second Conference of the OUN-B, held in April 1942, the policies for the "creation, build-up and development of Ukrainian political and future military forces" and "action against partisan activity supported by Moscow" were adopted. Although German policies were criticized, the ] were identified as the primary enemy of the OUN (B) and its future armed wing.<ref>Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army Chapter 2, pp. 95–97.</ref> The Military Conference of the OUN (B) met in December 1942 near ]. The conference resulted in the adoption of a policy of building up the OUN-B's military forces. The conference emphasized that "the entire combat capable population must support, under the OUN banner, the struggle against the Bolshevik enemy". On 30 May 1947, the Main Ukrainian Liberation Council (Головна Визвольна Рада) adopted the date of 14 October 1942—the feast of the ], and Ukrainian Cossacks' Day—as the official anniversary of the UPA.<ref>{{cite web|first=Dmytro |last=Shevchuk |url=http://www.ukrnationalism.org.ua/publications/?n=674 |script-title=uk:Бандерівці ідуть! |trans-title=The Banderists are coming! |language=uk |publisher=ukrnationalism.org.ua |date=20 January 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130041730/http://www.ukrnationalism.org.ua/publications/?n=674 |archive-date=30 January 2009}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=some weird Ukrainian nazi site|date=August 2024}}
From the date of UPA establishing SB became a responsible authority for intelligence and counterintelligence actions – however numerous attempts to infiltrate agents into soviet partisans detachments has very limited success. On other hand, on the “Polish- thread” field they have a much more success. For instance at one of the SB report for beginning of September 1943 mentioned ”during reporting period (1-10 Sept) 17 Poles families liquidated (58 persons)… Area in generally clean. There no pure-breed Poles. Issues of mixed families under resolving” ;<ref name> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, , p. 249-250</ref> At same time actions against “internal threat” were not halted – all absorbed non OUN (B) military formation and especially their commanders has own “SB-Angels with hanging wire in hands.” Such terror also not excluded SB and UPA itself – only in one military area at autumn 1943 were liquidated several units of SB and almost 70 insurgents.
After the Soviet Army approaching main target of SB activities becomes a “soviet agents and collaborates” as also their families – as such they were exterminated (in many case in sadistic way). Same fate awaited the families of man which don’t want “to take an arms in hands and join the struggle”, as only for one instance, 26 November 1944 in village Ispas (Chernivetska region) were exterminated 15 families (41 persons) because of village men refusal to join UPA. ; <ref name> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, , p. 374</ref>
Soviet investigative files are filled with references to follow-up investigations of
brutal reprisals carried out by SB units against women suspected of “pro-
Soviet sympathies” - heartily welcoming of Red Army soldiers, feeding them, allow them to stay in house, be a family member of mobilized Red Army soldiers etc . <!--“In village Diadkovichi SB unit murdered
Sofia PAVLIUK, who heartily welcomed soldiers of the advancing Red Army.”
“On the night of 19 September in the village Bolshaia-Osneshcha,
Kolkovskyi raion the STRESHA band murdered four women, in whose apartments
lived Red Army soldiers.” “On the night of 23 September in village
Mikhlin, Senkovichi raion, a SB unit of four persons killed four women and
injured one. had gotten together to write letters to their husbands and
sons in the Red Army.” –too detailed info -->
While targets of SB violence were certainly not exclusively
women and girls, a close look at patterns of rebel violence against local citizens
suggests that reprisals against “collaborators” was a euphemism for violence
against ethnic Poles during World War II and the first two postwar years, when
three quarters of the violence against “locals” was directed against ethnic Poles.
Following the forced deportation of over 800,000 ethnic Poles from West
Ukrainian oblasti in 1945-1946, however, available evidence suggests that as many
as four of five of victims of rebel violence against suspected “collaborators” were
ethnic Ukrainian women, especially young women allegedly suspected of sexually
fraternizing with men of the Soviet occupation. <ref>http://www.history.neu.edu/fac/burds/Gender.pdf </ref>
Soviet authorities successfully used paranoia spy-mania of OUN/UPA SB – they posed known for collaboration with OUN/UPA persons like as if they worked for NKVD and SB, without any delay liquidated such “suspected”. As for instance from January 1, 1945 till spring 1945 only in one area of OUN/UPA activity from 938 suspected 889 were liquidated. Despite the fact what the SB has able to conduct some counterintelligence actions against soviet agents and even to infiltrate few former UPA members which worked in the militia in 1945 <ref> Ivan Bilas. Repressive-punishment system in Ukraine. 1917-1953 Vol.2 Kyiv Lybid-Viysko Ukrainy, 1994 ISBN 5-325-00599-5 </ref> it actions has “ compromise the Movement” even by own OUN/UPA vision <ref name> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, , p. 375</ref>
The repeated OUN/UPA SB violence against women was certainly noticed and feared by the local population. As peasant A. V. Vasilev wrote from Stryi raion to his cousin on 1 September 1946: “Bandits cut the throats of six women in one night! It’s horrifying here now — you go to sleep and don’t know if you’ll ever wake up again.”
Brutality action were not halted until full extermination of OUN/UPA SB units – even in 21 June 1948 at Lviv State University stable Soviet investigators uncovered eighteen naked and mutilated corpses — seventeen women and one adolescent boy which were killed since November 1947 by OUN/UPA SB unit. Nearly all of the corpses were so badly decomposed that only six could be identified by family members (mainly through personal objects or clothing). In each case, the victim had been beaten to death on the back of the skull with an ax, hammer, or pipe. As a reflection of the macabre ritual interrogation that usually preceded SB executions of “suspected collaborators”, one corpse still had more than a meter of noose around her neck. SB assassination squad responsible for such crime had nine members, and acted on the direct instructions of the commander of an UPA regiment based in a nearby forest. All of the executions had been perpetrated under orders. One of the SB unit members had been recruited into the unit by an old friend, an officer from the Ukrainian SS Galicia Division, who was arrested in 1946. <ref>http://www.history.neu.edu/fac/burds/Gender.pdf </ref>
Information of OUN(B)/UPA SB terror and atrocities hard to find in post-war Ukrainian Diaspora publication,- only traces of them and only in publications by opposed to OUN(B) OUN wings (Melnik, UNR). However many persons of involved in mass and brutal civil population extermination still listed as “fallen heroes for Ukrainian liberation” at nationalistic publications.


==UPA's History== == Germany ==
]
Strategy of beginning of warfare was adopted at 3-d Conference of OUN which was held near Lviv 17-21 Febuary 1943. According to visions of ] and ], the main threat were Soviet partisans and Poles while actions against German should be conducted in form of “self defense for people”.
The relationship between Ukrainian Insurgent Army and Nazi Germany was complex and varied on account of the intertwined interests of the two actors, as well as the decentralized nature of the UPA.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Collaboration-of-the-OUN-B-and-UPA-leaders-with-Nazi-Germany-and-other-Axis-countries_tbl1_262727967|title=Collaboration of the OUN-B and UPA leaders with Nazi Germany and other... &#124; Download Table}}</ref>


Despite the stated opinions of ] and ] that the Germans were a secondary threat compared to their main enemies (the Communist forces of the Soviet Union and Poland), the Third Conference of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, held near Lviv from 17 to 21 February 1943, decided to begin open warfare against the Germans<ref name="TwoFront43-44">{{cite web|url=http://history.org.ua/oun_upa/upa/11.pdf|script-title=uk:Розділ 4 – 'Двофронтова' боротьба УПА (1943 – перша половина 1944 рр.)|trans-title=Chapter 4 – The 'two front' combat of the UPA (1943 – first half of 1944)|language=uk|publisher=history.org.ua|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411144040/http://history.org.ua/oun_upa/upa/11.pdf|archive-date=11 April 2008}}</ref> (OUN fighters had already attacked a German garrison earlier that year on 7 February).<ref name="AntiGermanFront">{{cite web |title= |script-title=uk:Розділ 4. – 4. Протинімецький фронт ОУН і УПА |trans-title=Chapter 4. – 4. Anti-German front of the OUN and UPA |url=http://history.org.ua/oun_upa/upa/14.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411143921/http://history.org.ua/oun_upa/upa/14.pdf |archive-date=11 April 2008 |website=Institute of History of Ukraine |publisher= |language=uk}}</ref> Accordingly, on 20 March 1943, the OUN-B leadership issued secret instructions ordering their members who had joined the collaborationist ] in 1941–1942 to desert with their weapons and join with UPA units in Volhynia. This process often involved armed conflict with German forces trying to prevent this. The number of trained and armed personnel who joined the ranks of the UPA was estimated to be between 4 and 5 thousand.<ref name="TwoFront43-44" />
Initially military formation of OUN under Bandera lead was called "military detachment of OUN (SD)". Initial talks at February and April 1943 on cooperation with already existed UPA under Bulba-Borovets more oriented to UNR <ref> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army Chapt 2.</ref> has no success because he not accept exclusive Bandera power and proposed plans for actions (against Poles). However since April 1943 as official name for OUN-SD by decree D.Klyachkivskyy of was adopted UPA <ref> http://warhistory.ukrlife.org/5_6_02_3.htm </ref>, a name more known and popular among Ukrainians.
]


Anti-German actions were limited to situations where the Germans attacked the Ukrainian population or UPA units.<ref name="2FrontStrategy">{{cite web |url=http://history.org.ua/oun_upa/upa/13.pdf |script-title=uk:3. Стратегія 'двофронтової' боротьби ОУН і УПА |trans-title=3. Strategy for the 'two front' combat of the OUN and UPA |language=uk |publisher=history.org.ua |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411144028/http://history.org.ua/oun_upa/upa/13.pdf |archive-date=11 April 2008}}</ref> According to German general ], UPA fighters "fought almost exclusively against German administrative agencies, the German police and the SS in their quest to establish an independent Ukraine controlled by neither Moscow nor Germany."<ref>''Debriefing of General Kostring'' Department of the Army, 3 November 1948, MSC – 035, cited in Sodol, Petro R., 1987, ''UPA: They Fought Hitler and Stalin'', New York: Committee for the World Convention and Reunion of Soldiers in the UIA, p. 58.</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=August 2024|reason=Subject-affiliated source}} During the German occupation, the UPA conducted hundreds of raids on police stations and military convoys. In the region of ] insurgents were estimated by the German General-Kommissar Leyser to be in control of 80% of the forests and 60% of the ].<ref name="Toynbee">{{cite book| author=Toynbee, T.R.V.|title=Survey of International Affairs: Hitler's Europe 1939–1945|location=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1954|page=}}{{page needed|date=July 2023}}</ref> According to the OUN/UPA, on 12 May 1943, Germans attacked the town of Kolki using several SS-Divisions (SS units operated alongside the ] who were responsible for intelligence, central security, policing action, and mass extermination), where both sides suffered heavy losses.<ref>Yuriy Tys-Krokhmaluk, UPA Warfare in Ukraine. New York, Society of Veterans of Ukrainian Insurgent Army {{LCCN|7280823}} pp. 58–59</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Subject-affiliated publisher|date=August 2024}} ] reported the reinforcement of German auxiliary forces at Kolki from the end of April until the middle of May 1943.<ref>Ivan Bilas. Repressive-punishment system in Ukraine. 1917–1953 Vol. 2 Kyiv Lybid-Viysko Ukrainy, 1994 {{ISBN|5-325-00599-5}} pp, 384, 391</ref>
According to OUN under Bandera orders - OUN (B) members who had joined in 1941-42 the German auxiliary police, deserted with their weapons to join the units of UPA at Volhynia. Their number was estimated from 4 to 5 thousands <ref> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army </ref>.


In June 1943, German SS and police forces under the command of ], the head of ]-directed '']'' ("bandit warfare"), attempted to destroy UPA-North in Volhynia during Operation BB (Bandenbekämpfung).<ref name=Anderson>James K. Anderson, Unknown Soldiers of an Unknown Army, ''Army'' Magazine, May 1968, p. 63</ref> According to Ukrainian claims, the initial stage of the operation produced no results whatsoever. This development was the subject of several discussions by Himmler's staff that resulted in General von dem Bach-Zelewski being sent to Ukraine.<ref>Yuriy Tys-Krokhmaluk, UPA Warfare in Ukraine. New York. Society of Veterans of Ukrainian Insurgent Army {{LCCN|7280823}} pp. 238–239</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Subject-affiliated publisher|date=August 2024}} He failed to eliminate the UPA, which grew steadily, and the Germans, apart from terrorizing the civilian population, were virtually limited to defensive actions.<ref>Yuriy Tys-Krokhmaluk, UPA Warfare in Ukraine. New York, N.Y. Society of Veterans of Ukrainian Insurgent Army {{LCCN|7280823}} pp. 242–243</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Subject-affiliated publisher|date=August 2024}}
No later then 20 of March UPA submit an order “to form Ukrainian national army from policeman, Cossacks and local Ukrainians oriented for OUN(B) and UNR”. Such formation in large extent include a forcible acquire of other then Bandera groups of Ukrainian nationalist.


From July through September 1943, in an estimated 74 clashes between German forces and the UPA, the Germans lost more than 3,000 men killed or wounded, while the UPA lost 1,237 killed or wounded. According to post-war estimates, the UPA had the following number of clashes with the Germans in mid-to-late 1943 in Volhynia: 35 in July, 24 in August, 15 in September and 47 during October–November.<ref name="AntiGermanFront" />{{rp|186}}<ref name="MukovskyLysenko2002">{{cite journal|first1=Ivan|last1=Mukovsky|first2=Oleksander|last2=Lysenko|url=http://warhistory.ukrlife.org/5_6_02_3.htm|script-title=uk:Українська повстанська армія та збройні формування ОУН у другій світовій війни|trans-title=Ukrainian Insurgent Army and armed formations of the OUN in World War II|language=uk|journal=Military History|year=2002|issue=5–6|access-date=31 March 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403233619/http://warhistory.ukrlife.org/5_6_02_3.htm|archive-date=April 3, 2023|quote=(Translation) ... 35 clashes took place in July, 24 in August, 15 in September; the insurgents lost 1,237 soldiers and officers, enemy losses amounted to 3000 people.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=L. Shankovskyy|title=History of Ukrainian Army (Історія українського війська)|location=Winnipeg|year=1953|page=32}}</ref> In the fall of 1943, clashes between the UPA and the Germans declined, so that ] in his November 1943 report and New Year 1944 speech could claim that "nationalistic bands in forests do not pose any major threat" for the Germans.<ref name="AntiGermanFront" />{{rp|190}}
May, 1943 General Command (Головна команда,ГК, військова Влада) of UPA started) their work under command of Klyachkivskiy.
In June 1943 established military gendarmerie service of UPA – UPA-SB.


In the autumn of 1943, some detachments of the UPA attempted to find rapprochement with the Germans, despite a 25 November OUN/UPA order to the contrary.<ref name="AntiGermanFront" />{{rp|190–194}} In early 1944, UPA forces in several Western regions cooperated with the German '']'', '']'', ] and ].<ref name="AntiGermanFront" />{{rp|192–194}}<ref>Yaroslav Hrytsak, "History of Ukraine 1772–1999"</ref> Nevertheless, the winter and spring of 1944 did not see a complete cessation of armed conflict between UPA and German forces, as the UPA continued to defend Ukrainian villages against the repressive actions of the German administration.<ref name="AntiGermanFront" />{{rp|196}} For example, on 20 January, 200 German soldiers on their way to the Ukrainian village of ] were forced to retreat after a several-hour long firefight with 80 UPA soldiers after having lost 30 killed and wounded.<ref name="AntiGermanFront" />{{rp|197}} In March–July 1944, a senior leader of OUN-B in Galicia conducted negotiations with SD and SS officials, resulting in a German decision to supply the UPA with arms and ammunition. In May of that year, the OUN issued instructions to "switch the struggle, which had been conducted against the Germans, completely into a struggle against the Soviets."<ref name="AntiGermanFront" />
June-July 1943 UPA consist of 3 groups – First (North), South and Group “Ozero” (Lake).


In a top-secret memorandum, General-Major Brigadeführer Brenner wrote in mid-1944 to SS-Obergruppenführer General ], the highest ranking German SS officer in Ukraine, that "The UPA has halted all attacks on units of the German army. The UPA systematically sends agents, mainly young women, into the enemy-occupied territory, and the results of the intelligence are communicated to Department 1c of the Army Group" on the southern front.<ref name="BurdsGender">{{cite web|first=Jeffrey|last=Burds|url=http://www.history.neu.edu/fac/burds/Gender.pdf|title=Gender and Policing in Soviet West Ukraine, 1944–1948|publisher=history.neu.edu|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070127004924/http://www.history.neu.edu/fac/burds/Gender.pdf|archive-date=27 January 2007}}</ref> By the autumn of 1944, the German press was full of praise for the UPA for their anti-Bolshevik successes, referring to the UPA fighters as "Ukrainian fighters for freedom"<ref>Martovych O. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). Munchen, 1950 p. 20</ref> After the front had passed, by the end of 1944 the Germans supplied the OUN/UPA by air with arms and equipment. In the ], there even existed a small landing strip for German transport planes. Some German personnel trained in terrorist and intelligence activities behind Soviet lines, as well as some OUN-B leaders, were also transported through this channel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://history.org.ua/LiberUA/Book/Upa/18.pdf|script-title=uk:Розділ 6 – 2. Самостійницький рух у 1944 р.|trans-title=Chapter 6 – 2. Independence Movement in 1944|language=uk|publisher=history.org.ua|page=338|access-date=31 March 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531052241/http://history.org.ua/LiberUA/Book/Upa/18.pdf|archive-date=May 31, 2023}}</ref>
In July 1943 in ] begins formation of first UNS (Ukrainian National Self-defense) detachment which should oppose to Soviet Partisans, by end of 1943 – beginning of 1944 UNS transformed into UPA units.


Adopting a strategy analogous to that of the ] leader General ],<ref name=upa13>, pp. 174–180</ref> the UPA limited its actions against the Germans in order to better prepare itself for and engage in the struggle against the Communists. Because of this, although the UPA managed to limit German activities to a certain extent, it failed to prevent the Germans from deporting approximately 500,000 people from Western Ukraine and from economically exploiting Western Ukraine.<ref name=upa13/> Due to its focus on the Soviets as the principal threat, the UPA's anti-German struggle did not contribute significantly to the recapture of Ukrainian territories by Soviet forces.<ref name="AntiGermanFront" />{{rp|199}}


== Poland ==
=== Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia ===
At Third Great Extraordinary Meeting of OUN in August 1943 was adopted a “two front warfare – against German Imperialism and Moscow Bolshevizm”, while last was mentioned as major threat.
{{Main|Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia}}
{{See also|Sluzhba Bezpeky|Polish-Ukrainian ethnic conflict}}
]]]
] and OUN in May of 1945 near ]]]
In 1943, the UPA adopted a policy of massacring and expelling the Polish population east of the ].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Martin |first=Terry |format=PDF |url=https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/3229636/Martin%201998.pdf?sequence=2 |date=December 1998 |access-date=3 May 2018 |title=The Origins of Soviet Ethnic Cleansing |journal=The Journal of Modern History|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613013830/https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/3229636/Martin%201998.pdf?sequence=2|archive-date=June 13, 2023 |publisher=The ] |volume=70 |issue=4 |page=820 |doi=10.1086/235168|s2cid=32917643 }}</ref><ref name="Snyder2">Timothy Snyder. ''The Reconstruction of Nations. Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569–1999.'' ]. 2003. pp. 168–170, 176</ref> In March 1943, the OUN-B (specifically ]<ref>. Sevdig.sevastopol.ws. Retrieved on 11 July 2011.</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=August 2024|certain=Some weird geocities-style website. From a quick look at the machine-translated text, it seems to be a polemical first-person account}}) imposed a collective death sentence on all Poles living in the former east of the Second Polish Republic, and a few months later, local units of the UPA were instructed to complete the operation soon.<ref>Karel Cornelis Berkhoff, "Harvest of Despair: Life and Death in Ukraine Under Nazi Rule", Harvard University Press, 2004, {{ISBN|0-674-01313-1}} </ref> Among those who were behind the decision, Polish investigators singled out ], Vasyl Ivakhov, Ivan Lytvynchuk and Petro Oliynyk.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://artukraine.com/historical/volyn_trag2.htm|title=Historical Gallery|date=28 August 2003|access-date=9 July 2022|archive-date=28 August 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030828170530/http://artukraine.com/historical/volyn_trag2.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>


The ] operation against the Poles began on a large scale in Volhynia in late February (or early Spring<ref name=Snyder2 />) of that year and lasted until the end of 1944.<ref name="HistoryOrgPDF16">{{cite book|chapter-url=http://www.history.org.ua/oun_upa/oun/16.pdf |title=Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army |chapter=16 |publisher=Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine |pages=247–295}}{{dead link|date=March 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> ], the founder of the UPA, criticized the attacks as soon as they began: {{blockquote|The axe and the flail have gone into motion. Whole families are butchered and hanged, and Polish settlements are set on fire. The “hatchet men,” to their shame, butcher and hang defenceless women and children.... By such work Ukrainians not only do a favor for the SD , but also present themselves in the eyes of the world as barbarians. We must take into account that England will surely win this war, and it will treat these “hatchet men” and lynchers and incendiaries as agents in the service of Hitlerite cannibalism, not as honest fighters for their freedom, not as state-builders.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Himka |first1=John-Paul |title=The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army: Unwelcome Elements of an Identity Project |journal=Ab Imperio |date=2010 |volume=2010 |issue=4 |pages=83–101 |doi=10.1353/imp.2010.0101|s2cid=130590374 }}</ref>}}
By August, 18 1943 decree Klyachkivskiy disband ] and some of their remains forcibly absorbed by UPA, some commanders were killed.


11 July 1943, the ], was one of the deadliest days of the massacres, with UPA units marching from village to village, killing Polish civilians. On that day, UPA units surrounded and attacked 99 Polish villages and settlements in three counties – ], ], and ]. On the following day, 50 additional villages were attacked.<ref>Grzegorz Motyka, Ukraińska Partyzantka 1942–1960, Warszawa 2006, p. 329</ref> In January 1944, the UPA campaign of ethnic cleansing spread to the neighboring province of Galicia. Unlike in Volhynia, where Polish villages were destroyed and their inhabitants murdered without warning, Poles in eastern Galicia were in some instances given the choice of fleeing or being killed.<ref name=Snyder2 /> Ukrainian peasants sometimes joined the UPA in the violence,<ref name=Snyder2 /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.org.ua/oun_upa/oun/11.pdf |script-title=uk:11. Українсько-польське протистояння |trans-title=11. Ukrainian-Polish confrontation |language=uk |publisher=Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine |page=24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828210758/http://history.org.ua/oun_upa/oun/11.pdf |archive-date=28 August 2008}}</ref> and large bands of armed marauders, unaffiliated with the UPA, brutalized civilians.<ref name="Burds1996">{{cite journal|url=http://www.history.neu.edu/fac/burds/agentura1.pdf |last1=Burds |first1=Jeffrey |title=Agentura: Soviet Informants' Networks & the Ukrainian Underground in Galicia, 1944–48 |journal=] |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=89–130 |year=1996 |issn=0888-3254 |doi=10.1177/0888325497011001003 |s2cid=144312569 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031005141138/http://www.history.neu.edu/fac/burds/agentura1.pdf |archive-date=5 October 2003}}</ref> In other cases however, Ukrainian civilians took significant steps to protect their Polish neighbors, either by hiding them during the UPA raids or vouching that the Poles were actually Ukrainians.
August- end of 1943 UPA enlarged to 4 groups (military areas): “Turiv” (North-West), “Zagrava” (North), “Eney”- later “Bogun” (South) and “Vereschaky – later “Tyutyunnyk” (East).
August, 27 1943 General Command issued a decree on military ranks in UPA – all UPA personnel should be called “kozaks” and divided on 3 groups– “kozaky-striltsi”( privates) , “pidstarshyny”( sub commanders) and “starshyny” (commanders); military ranks and grades established - pidstarshyny, starshyny and generals.


] killed by the UPA, ], Poland]]
In November, 1943 adopted new structure of UPA - created Main Military Headquarter and three area (group} commands UPA-West (based on UNS), UPA-North and UPA-South. Tactical units were: brigades, kurins (]), sotnya (companies), choty (]s) and royi (]). New military structure were adopted: a) privates b) sub commanders c) commanders d) generals. There exist three military schools for low-level command staff. Also established a system of military honors – Bronze Cross of Military Honors, Silver Cross of Military Honors (I and II grade) and Gold Cross of Military Honors (I and II grade).


The methods used by the UPA to carry out the massacres were particularly brutal and were committed indiscriminately without any restraint. Historian ] describes the killings: <blockquote>"Villages were torched. Roman Catholic priests were axed or crucified. Churches were burned with all their parishioners. Isolated farms were attacked by gangs carrying pitchforks and kitchen knives. Throats were cut. Pregnant women were bayoneted. Children were cut in two. Men were ambushed in the field and led away."<ref name="no simple victory">], '']'' Publisher: Pan Books, 2007, 544 pages, {{ISBN|978-0-330-35212-3}}</ref> </blockquote>In total, the estimated numbers of Polish and Jewish civilians killed in Volhynia and Galicia is between 50,000 and 100,000.{{refn|The exact number of ethnic Polish fatal victims is unknown. Most estimates vary between 50,000,<ref name=Snyder1999>{{cite journal |last1=Snyder |first1=Timothy |title='To Resolve the Ukrainian Problem Once and for All': The Ethnic Cleansing of Ukrainians in Poland, 1943–1947 |journal=Journal of Cold War Studies |date=1999 |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=86–120 |doi=10.1162/15203979952559531|s2cid=57564179 }}</ref> or 100,000,<ref name="Himka2">J. P. Himka. . University of Alberta. 28 March 2011. p. 4</ref><ref name=":0b">{{Cite news|url=http://volhyniamassacre.eu/zw2/history/179,The-Effects-of-the-Volhynian-Massacres.html|title=The Effects of the Volhynian Massacres|last=Massacre|first=Volhynia|work=Volhynia Massacre|access-date=2018-03-10|language=en|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529094412/https://volhyniamassacre.eu/zw2/history/179,The-Effects-of-the-Volhynian-Massacres.html|archive-date=May 29, 2023}}</ref><ref name="ahonen">{{cite book|title=Peoples on the Move: Population Transfers and Ethnic Cleansing Policies During World War II and Its Aftermath |last=Pertti |first=Ahonen |publisher=] |year=2008 |page=99}}</ref> depending on the source used;<ref>Grzegorz Motyka, ''Od rzezi wołyńskiej do akcji "Wisła"'', Kraków 2011, p. 447.</ref> lower and higher numbers are occasionally cited too when different regions and perpetrators are included. A neutral halfway point between the most often cited numbers that was mentioned in an IPN conference of Polish and Ukrainian scholars is 85,000 deaths.<ref name="rozlicz">{{Citation | last = | first = | url = https://ipn.gov.pl/download/1/169564/Wolyn-1943-rozliczenie-Konferencja-IPN.pdf | title = Wołyń 1943 – Rozliczenie | journal = Konferencje IPN | volume = 41 | pages = 27–30 | date = 2010 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322160800/https://ipn.gov.pl/download/1/169564/Wolyn-1943-rozliczenie-Konferencja-IPN.pdf|archive-date=March 22, 2023}}</ref>}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rudling |first=Per Anders |date=2012-07-01 |title='They Defended Ukraine': The 14. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (Galizische Nr. 1) Revisited |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/13518046.2012.705633 |journal=The Journal of Slavic Military Studies |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=329–368 |doi=10.1080/13518046.2012.705633 |s2cid=144432759 |issn=1351-8046 |quote=In 1943–44 the OUN(b) and its armed wing, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) carried out a brutal campaign of mass murder of the Polish, Jewish, and other minorities in Volhynia and Galicia which claimed up to 100,000 lives}}</ref><ref name=":0a" /> Victims of the UPA included Ukrainians who did not adhere to its form of nationalism and so were considered traitors.<ref name="Snyder B">{{cite web|author=Timothy Snyder|title=A Fascist Hero in Democratic Kiev|url=http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2010/02/24/a-fascist-hero-in-democratic-kiev/|work=NYR Daily|date=24 February 2010 |publisher=The New York Review of Books|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528223405/https://www.nybooks.com/online/2010/02/24/a-fascist-hero-in-democratic-kiev/|archive-date=May 28, 2023}}</ref> After the initiation of the massacres, Polish self-defense units responded in kind. Estimates of Ukrainians killed in acts of reprisal range from 2,000 to 30,000.<ref name="Rudling2">]. ''Theory and Practice. Historical representation of the wartime accounts of the activities of OUN-UPA (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists–Ukrainian Insurgent Army)''. East European Jewish Affairs. Vol. 36. No. 2. December 2006. pp. 163–179.</ref><ref name="Liebe2">G. Rossolinski-Liebe. ''Celebrating Fascism and War Criminality in Edmonton. The Political Myth and Cult of Stepan Bandera in Multicultural Canada''. Kakanien Revisited. 29 December 2010.</ref><ref>Kataryna Wolczuk, "The Difficulties of Polish-Ukrainian Historical Reconciliation," Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, 2002.</ref> On 22 July 2016, the ] passed a resolution declaring the massacres committed by the UPA a ].<ref>Radio Poland "Polish MPs adopt resolution calling 1940s massacre genocide" http://www.thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/263005,Polish-MPs-adopt-resolution-calling-1940s-massacre-genocide {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119172309/http://archiwum.thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/263005 |date=19 November 2020 }}</ref>
From end of 1943 till summer 1944 there 2 group of UPA – UPA- North (], UPA-West (]). (under UPA-South and UPA-East acted detachments belonged to UPA-West and UPA-South respectively). <ref> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army </ref>


=== Post-war ===
From January –March 1944 UPA in many areas started cooperation with Wehrmacht. In March OUN/UPA representatives negotiated with SS and SD officials. Not later than beginning of May, 1944 OUN submitted instructions to "switch the struggle, which was conducted against Germans, completely into a struggle against the Soviets."
{{See also|Operation Vistula|Repatriation of Ukrainians from Poland to the Soviet Union|Freedom and Independence Association}}
], ] and ] populations were expelled.]]


After Galicia had been taken over by the Red Army, many units of the UPA abandoned the anti-Polish course of action and some even began cooperating with local ] against the Soviets and the NKVD. Many Ukrainians, who had not participated in the anti-Polish massacres, joined the UPA after the war on both the Soviet and Polish sides of the border.<ref> ]. New York Review of Books. 24 February 2010.</ref> Local agreements between the UPA and the Polish post-] units began to appear as early as April/May 1945 and in some places lasted until 1947, such as in the ]. One of the most notable joint actions of the UPA and the post-Home Army ] (WiN) took place in May 1946, when the two partisan formations coordinated their attack and took over of the city of ].<ref name=Mot1>Grzegorz Motyka, "W Kregu ''Lun w Bieszczadach'', Rytm, Warsaw, 2009, pp. 12–14, 43</ref>
At spring- early summer 1944 UPA reached highest military strength 25.000-30,000 of active fighters. <ref> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army p.173-174 </ref>


The cooperation between the UPA and the post-Home Army underground came about partly as a response to increasing Communist terror and the forced population exchange between Poland and Ukraine. According to official statistics, between 1944 and 1956 around 488,000 Ukrainians and 789,000 Poles were transferred.<ref name=Mot1 /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/roman-kabachiy/ukraine-poland-history-wars-rage-on|title=Ukraine-Poland: history wars rage on|publisher=Opendemocracy.net|date=26 October 2011|access-date=4 August 2014|archive-date=8 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808220149/https://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/roman-kabachiy/ukraine-poland-history-wars-rage-on|url-status=dead}}</ref> On the territories of present-day Poland, 8,000–12,000 Ukrainians were killed and 6,000–8,000 Poles, between 1943 and 1947. However, unlike in Volhynia, most of the casualties occurred after 1944 and involved UPA soldiers and Ukrainian civilians on one side, and members of the Polish Communist ] (UB) and ] (WOP).<ref name=Mot1 /> Out of the 2,200 Poles who died in the fighting between 1945 and 1948, only a few hundred were civilians, with the remainder being functionaries or soldiers of the Communist regime in Poland.<ref name=Mot1 />
In July 1944 UPA and OUN established Ukrainian General Liberation Council (Українська головна визвольна рада – УГВР). First meeting of UGLC conducted 11-14 of July 1944.


== Soviet Union ==
{{main|Anti-Soviet resistance by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army}}


=== German occupation ===
After 5-6 February 1945 meeting of OUN/UPA High command staff was been adopted a new strategy: a) “clearing of UPA” from weak elements, through demobilization, liquidate kurins (battalions) and sotnya’s (companies) and act predominantly by choty’s (]s). Main units of UPA should be relocated to more calm territories of Poland, Belarus and east Ukraine.
{{Eastern Bloc sidebar}}
The total number of local ] acting in Western Ukraine was never high, due to the region enduring only two years of German rule (in some places even less).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vkpb.ru/gpw/guerrilla_ukr.shtml |script-title=ru:Партизанское движение на Украине |trans-title=The Partisan Movement in Ukraine |language=ru |work=] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080224080545/http://www.vkpb.ru/gpw/guerrilla_ukr.shtml |archive-date=24 February 2008}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=No particular reason to doubt this claim as source has no incentive to lie about it, but the source is nevertheless some anonymous, unsourced article by a small Russian Communist party and it's anyone's guess how rigorous their research was. If the site is merely reproducing an old CPSU document, it could be considered provisionally reliable, but an academic source would still be preferable.|date=August 2024}} In 1943, the Soviet partisan leader ] was sent to the ], with help from ]. He described his mission to western Ukraine in his book ''Vid Putivlia do Karpat'' (From ] to the ]). Well armed by supplies delivered to secret airfields, he formed a group consisting of several thousand men which moved deep into the Carpathians.<ref name="Subtelny476">Subtelny, p. 476</ref> Attacks by the German ] and military forced Kovpak to break up his force into smaller units in 1944; these groups were attacked by UPA units on their way back. Soviet ] agent ] was captured and executed by UPA members after unwittingly entering their camp while wearing a Wehrmacht officer uniform.<ref>Ihor Sundiukov, "The Other Side of the Legend: Nikolai Kuznetsov Revisited", 24 January 2006. on 18 December 2007.</ref>


=== Fighting ===
In February 1945 created 5 General Areas (generalni Okrugy), each of it consist of 3 military areas (VO- viyskovi okrugy). During spring-summer 1945 reorganization of OUN/UPA continued –gendarmerie and military intelligence were liquidated; military areas were transformed into “UPA-groups”. etc.<ref> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army </ref>
As the Red Army approached Galicia, the UPA avoided clashes with the regular units of the Soviet military.<ref name="Perekrest">{{cite news|first=Yanina |last=Sokolovskaia |url=http://www.fsb.ru/fsb/history/author/single.htm%21_print%3Dtrue%26id%3D10318128%40fsbPublication.html |script-title=ru:Последний Бандеровец: Командир украинских повстанцев Василь Кук прекратил войну с Россией |trans-title=The last Banderovets: Ukrainian rebel commander Vasyl Kuk stopped the war with Russia |language=ru |publisher=] of the Russian Federation |agency=] |date=13 October 2003 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224035831/http://www.fsb.ru/history/autors/sokolovskaya.html |archive-date=24 December 2007}}</ref> Instead, the UPA focused its energy on NKVD units and Soviet officials of all levels, from NKVD and military officers to the school teachers and postal workers attempting to establish Soviet administration.<ref name="Krohmaliuk">{{cite book|last=Krokhmaluk |first=Y. |title=UPA Warfare in Ukraine |location=New York |publisher=Vantage Press |year=1972 |page=242}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|date=August 2024|certain=yes}}


In March 1944, UPA insurgents mortally wounded front commander Army General ], who captured Kiev when he led Soviet forces in the ].<ref name="Grenkevich,">{{cite book|last=Grenkevich |first=L. |title=The Soviet Partisan Movement, 1941–1944: Critical analysis of |publisher=] |year=1999 |page=134}}</ref> Several weeks later an NKVD battalion was annihilated by the UPA near ]. This resulted in a full-scale operation in the spring of 1944, initially involving 30,000 Soviet troops against the UPA in Volhynia. Estimates of casualties vary depending on the source. In a letter to the ], ] stated that in spring 1944 clashes between Soviet forces and the UPA resulted in 2,018 killed and 1,570 captured UPA fighters and only 11 Soviets killed and 46 wounded. A captured UPA member, quoted in Soviet archives, stated that he received reports about UPA losses of 200 fighters against 2,000 Soviet losses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://history.org.ua/oun_upa/upa/15.pdf |script-title=uk:Розділ 4 – 5. Боротьба ОУН і УПА на протібільшовицькому фронті |trans-title=Chapter 4 – 5. Battle of the OUN and UPA on the Anti-Bolshevik Front |language=uk |publisher=history.org.ua |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411144138/http://history.org.ua/oun_upa/upa/15.pdf |archive-date=11 April 2008}}</ref>{{rp|213–214}} The first significant sabotage operations against communications of the Soviet Army before their offensive against the Germans was conducted by the UPA in April–May 1944. Such actions were promptly stopped by the Soviet Army and NKVD troops, after which the OUN/UPA submitted an order to temporarily cease anti-Soviet activities and prepare for the further struggle against the Soviets.<ref name="Bilas1994">{{cite book|last=Bilas |first=Ivan |script-title=uk:Репресивно-каральна система в Україні (1917–1953) |trans-title=The Repressive-Punitive System in Ukraine (1917–1953) |language=uk |publisher=Lybid |location=Kyïv |year=1994 |volume=2 |pages=549–570 |isbn=5-325-00599-5}}</ref>
At spring 1945 OUN(b) issued an order to use wording “Ukrainian rebel” (Український повстанець in Ukrainian) naming for UPA members – instead “banderivets”.<ref> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army </ref>


Despite heavy casualties on both sides during the initial clashes, the struggle was inconclusive. New large-scale actions of the UPA, especially in ], were launched in July–August 1944, when the Red Army advanced West.<ref name="Bilas1994" /> By the autumn of 1944, UPA forces enjoyed virtual freedom of movement over an area of 160,000 square kilometers in size and home to over 10 million people, and had established a shadow government.{{Sfn|Zhukov|2007|p=446}}
In August 1945 UPA units transferred under command of regional centers of OUN. <ref> http://warhistory.ukrlife.org/5_6_02_4.htm </ref> <ref> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army </ref>


] made and distributed by the UPA, 1945]]
During Great Blockade by MVD troops from January 11 till April 10 1946 UPA in Carpathian region suffered main losses and from this time end it existence as combat unit.” <ref> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army </ref>
In November 1944, Khrushchev launched the first of several large-scale Soviet assaults on the UPA throughout Western Ukraine, involving—according to OUN/UPA estimates—at least 20 NKVD combat divisions supported by artillery and armoured units. Soviet forces blockaded villages and roads, and set forests on fire.<ref name="Krohmaliuk" />{{Self-published inline|date=August 2024|certain=yes}} Soviet archival data states that on 9 October 1944, one NKVD Division, eight NKVD brigades, and an NKVD cavalry regiment with a total of 26,304 NKVD soldiers were stationed in Western Ukraine. In addition, two regiments with 1,500 and 1,200 persons, one battalion (517 persons) and three armoured trains with 100 additional soldiers each, as well as one border guard regiment and one unit were starting to relocate there in order to reinforce them.<ref>According to Soviet archives, the NKVD units located in Western Ukraine were: the 9th Rifle division; 16, 20, 21, 25, 17, 18, 19, 23rd brigades; 1 cavalry regiment. Sent to reinforce them: 256, 192nd regiments; 1 battalion three armoured trains (45, 26, 42). The 42nd border guard regiment and another unit (27th) were sent to reinforce them. From Ivan Bilas. Repressive-punishment system in Ukraine. 1917–1953 Vol. 2 Kyiv Lybid-Viysko Ukrainy, 1994 {{ISBN|5-325-00599-5}} pp. 478–482</ref>


During late 1944 and the first half of 1945, according to Soviet data, the UPA suffered approximately 89,000 killed, approximately 91,000 captured, and approximately 39,000 surrendered while the Soviet forces lost approximately 12,000 killed, approximately 6,000 wounded and 2,600 MIA. In addition, during this time, according to Soviet data UPA actions resulted in the killing of 3,919 civilians and the disappearance of 427 others.<ref name="UPA 1944">Exact statistics of UPA casualties by the Soviets and Soviet casualties by UPA, in specific time periods, according to data compiled by the NKVD of the Ukrainian SRR: during February – December 1944 the UPA suffered the following casualties: 57,405 killed; 50,387 captured; 15,990 surrendered. During the period from 1 January 1945 until 1 May 1945 the following casualties were reported: 31,157 killed; 40,760 captured; 23,156 surrendered. The UPA's actions numbered 2,903 in 1944, and from 1 January 1945 until 1 May 1945 – 1,289. During February until December 1944 Soviet losses were: 9,521 "killed and hanged"; 3,494 wounded; 2,131 MIA; amongst them NKVD-NKGB suffered 401 killed and hanged, 227 wounded, 98 MIA and captured. From January 1, 1945 until May 1, 1945 the NKVD and Soviet Army troops suffered 2,513 killed, 2,489 wounded, 524 MIA and captured. Soviet Authorities personnel suffered 1,225 killed or hanged, 239 wounded, 427 MIA or captured. In addition, 3,919 civilians were killed or hanged, 320 wounded, and 814 MIA or captured. From Ivan Bilas. Repressive-punishment system in Ukraine. 1917–1953 Vol.2 Kyiv Lybid-Viysko Ukrainy, 1994 {{ISBN|5-325-00599-5}} pp. 604–605</ref> Despite the heavy losses, as late as summer 1945, many ]-size UPA units still continued to control and administer large areas of territory in Western Ukraine.<ref name="Subtelny2000">{{cite book|first=Orest|last=Subtelny|author-link=Orest Subtelny|title=Ukraine: A History|url=https://archive.org/details/ukrainehistory00subt_0|url-access=registration|access-date=20 January 2016|year=2000|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-8390-6}}</ref>{{rp|489}} In February 1945 the UPA issued an order to liquidate ''kurins'' (battalions) and ''sotnyas'' (companies) and to operate predominantly in ''chotys'' (]s).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://history.org.ua/oun_upa/upa/20.pdf |script-title=uk:4. Протистояння ОУН та УПА і радянської системи у 1945 р. |trans-title=4. The confrontation of the OUN and UPA and the Soviet system in 1945 |language=uk |publisher=history.org.ua |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411144114/http://history.org.ua/oun_upa/upa/20.pdf |archive-date=11 April 2008}}</ref>
At spring 1946 OUN/UPA established contacts with Intelligence services of France, Great Britain and USA. <ref> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army </ref>


=== Spring 1945–late 1946 ===
May 30, 1947 R.Shukhevych issued instructions joining the OUN and UPA in underground warfare.
{{Further|Sluzhba Bezpeky}}
After Germany surrendered in May 1945, the Soviet authorities turned their attention to the guerrilla wars taking place in Ukraine ]. Combat units were reorganized and special forces were sent in. One of the major complications that arose was the local support the UPA had from the population.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}} Areas of UPA activity were depopulated. The estimates on numbers deported vary; officially Soviet archives state that between 1944 and 1952 a total of 182,543 people<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uvkr.com.ua/ua/visnyk/visnyk2005/april2005/komar.html |script-title=uk:Складна доля української діаспори |trans-title=The complicated fate of the Ukrainian diaspora |language=uk |work=Ukrainian World Coordinating Council |date=2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070305223743/http://www.uvkr.com.ua/ua/visnyk/visnyk2005/april2005/komar.html |archive-date=5 March 2007}}</ref><ref>Theses include deported (1944–47): families of OUN/UPA members – 15,040 families (37,145) persons; OUN/UPA underground families – 26,332 (77,791 persons) taken from: Ivan Bilas. Repressive-punishment system in Ukraine. 1917–1953 Vol. 2 Kyiv Lybid-Viysko Ukrainy, 1994 {{ISBN|5-325-00599-5}} pp. 545–546</ref> were deported while other sources indicate the number may have been as high as to 500,000.<ref name="Subtelny489">Subtelny, p. 489</ref>


Mass arrests of suspected UPA informants or family members were conducted; between February 1944 and May 1946 over 250,000 people were arrested in Western Ukraine.<ref name=Burds97>Burds, p.97</ref> Those arrested typically experienced beatings or other violence. Those suspected of being UPA members underwent torture; reports{{Specify|date=August 2024|reason=This is presumably from the Burds source cited after the following sentence, but I would clarify whose 'reports' if possible}} exist of some prisoners being burned alive. The many arrested women believed to be affiliating with the UPA were subjected to torture, deprivation, and rape at the hands of Soviet security in order to "break" them and get them to reveal UPA members' identities and locations or to turn them into Soviet double-agents.<ref name="BurdsGender" /> Mutilated corpses of captured rebels were put on public display.<ref name="Burds1996" /> Ultimately, between 1944 and 1952 alone as many as 600,000 people may have been arrested in Western Ukraine, with about one-third executed and the rest imprisoned or exiled.{{sfn|Taubman|2004|p=195}}
On May 30, 1947 the Main Ukrainian Liberation Council (Головна Визвольна Рада) adopted the date of October 14, 1942 as the official day for celebrating UPA's creation.


], the leader of the UPA]]
September 3, 1949 R.Shukhevych issued an order, According with the decision of UGLC, about liquidation of UPA units and headquarters as combat and managing structures. All their personnel should be joining the OUN (B) undergrounds. <ref> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army </ref>
The UPA responded to the Soviet methods by unleashing their own terror against Soviet activists, suspected collaborators and their families. This work was particularly attributed to the ] (SB), the anti-espionage wing of the UPA. In a typical incident in the Lviv region, in front of horrified villagers, UPA troops gouged out the eyes of two entire families suspected of reporting on insurgent movements to Soviet authorities, before hacking their bodies to pieces. Due to public outrage concerning these violent punitive acts, the UPA stopped the practice of killing the families of collaborators by mid-1945. Other victims of the UPA included Soviet activists sent to Galicia from other parts of the Soviet Union; heads of village Soviets, those sheltering or feeding Red Army personnel, and even people turning food into collective farms. The effect of such terrorist acts was such that people refused to take posts as village heads, and until the late 1940s villages chose single men with no dependents as their leaders.<ref name="Burds1996" />{{rp|109}}


The UPA also proved to be especially adept at assassinating key Soviet administrative officials. According to ] data, between February 1944 and December 1946 11,725 Soviet officers, agents and collaborators were assassinated and 2,401 were "missing", presumed kidnapped, in Western Ukraine.<ref name="Burds1996" />{{rp|113–114}} In one ] in ] alone, from August 1944 until January 1945 Ukrainian rebels killed 10 members of the Soviet active and a secretary of the county Communist party, and also kidnapped four other officials. The UPA travelled at will throughout the area. In this county, there were no courts, no prosecutor's office, and the local NKVD only had three staff members.<ref name="Burds1996" />{{rp|113–114}}
==UPA's relations with Germany==
===Hostilities===


According to ], from May to September 1945 the UPA fought more than 80 battles and lost 5,000 men (killed and wounded); the Soviet losses were 7,400 killed and more than 9,000 wounded.<ref name=":9">Otto Skorzeny (1975). My Commando Operations. p. 375.</ref> During the night of October 31, 1945 the UPA captured ], the former capital of ].<ref name=":9"/> From Ukrainian Christmas Day, January 7, until October 1946 the UPA was forced to fight more than 1,000 battles: Soviet losses were more than 15,000 killed.<ref name=":9"/>
According to the OUN/UPA, under German occupation, since spring 1943, the UPA conducted hundreds of raids on German police stations and military convoys.


According to a 1946 report by Khrushchev's deputy for West Ukrainian affairs A. A. Stoiantsev, out of 42,175 operations and ambushes against the UPA by ] in Western Ukraine, only 10 percent had positive results – in the vast majority there was either no contact or the individual unit was disarmed and pro-Soviet leaders murdered or kidnapped.<ref name="Burds1996" />{{rp|123}} Morale amongst the NKVD in Western Ukraine was particularly low. Even within the dangerous context of Soviet state service in the late-Stalin era, West Ukraine was considered to be a "hardship post", and personnel files reveal higher rates of transfer requests, alcoholism, nervous breakdowns, and refusal to serve among NKVD field agents there at that time.<ref name="Burds1996" />{{rp|120}}
<!--As a rule the UPA did not attack units of the Wehrmacht, knowing that they were fighting against Russian Communism. Likewise, the frontline forces of the German army did not take any part in manhunts and operation against the UPA, sometimes even refusing to assist the German security and police forces against UPA.<ref> Yuriy Tys- Krokhmaluk, UPA Warfare in Ukraine. New York, N.Y. Society of Veterans of Ukrainian Insurgent Army Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 72-80823 P.232 </ref> Indeed, according to German General Ernst Kostring, responsible for non-German units in Wehrmacht, UPA fighters "fought almost exclusively against German administrative agencies, the German police and the SS in their quest to establish an independent Ukraine controlled by neither Moscow or Germany."<ref> ''Debriefing of General Kostring'' Department of the Army, 3 November 1948, MSC - 035, cited in Sodol, Petro R., 1987, ''UPA: They Fought Hitler and Stalin'', New York: Committee for the World Convention and Reunion of Soldiers in the UIA, pg. 58. </ref>


The first success of the Soviet authorities came in early 1946 in the Carpathians, which were blockaded from 11 January until 10 April. The UPA operating there ceased to exist as a combat unit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://history.org.ua/oun_upa/upa/22.pdf |title=Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army |publisher=Institute of Ukrainian History, ] |access-date=26 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060529064950/http://history.org.ua/oun_upa/upa/22.pdf |archive-date=29 May 2006 |language=uk |url-status=dead}}</ref> The continuous heavy casualties elsewhere forced the UPA to split into small units consisting of 100 soldiers. Many of the troops demobilized and returned home, when the Soviet Union offered three amnesties during 1947–1948.<ref name="Perekrest" /> By 1946, the UPA was reduced to a core group of 5,000–10,000 fighters, and large-scale UPA activity shifted to the Soviet-Polish border. Here, in 1947, they killed the Polish Communist deputy defence minister General ]. In spring 1946, the OUN/UPA established contacts with the Intelligence services of France, Great Britain and US.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://history.org.ua/oun_upa/upa/23.pdf |title=Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army |publisher=Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine |access-date=26 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411143934/http://history.org.ua/oun_upa/upa/23.pdf|archive-date=11 April 2008 |language=uk |url-status=dead}}</ref>
According to the OUN/UPA, on May 12, 1943 Germans attacked the town of Kolki using several ] (SS units operated alongside the Nazi Army who were responsible for intelligence, central security, policing action, and the mass extermination), but the Germans as well as insurgents suffered heavy losses.<ref> Yuriy Tys- Krokhmaluk, UPA Warfare in Ukraine. New York, N.Y. Society of Veterans of Ukrainian Insurgent Army Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 72-80823 P.58-59</ref> Although there were no SS-divisions mentioned at this time in the identified areas according to mainstream historians,<ref> Wegner, B. (1990). The Waffen-SS. Padstow: TJ Press.</ref>,<ref> Williamson, G., & Andrew, S. (2004a). The Waffen-SS (2): 6 to 10 Divisions. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. </ref><ref> Williamson, G., & Andrew, S. (2004b). The Waffen-SS (3): 11 to 23 Divisions. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. </ref> Soviet partisans reported about the reinforcement of German auxiliary forces at Kolki for the end of April until mid of May, 1943<ref> Ivan Bilas. Repressive-punishment system in Ukraine. 1917-1953 Vol.2 Kyiv Lybid-Viysko Ukrainy, 1994 ISBN 5-325-00599-5 p, 384 p.391</ref>


=== End of UPA resistance ===
In June 1943 German SS and police forces under the command of ], seen as an expert in fighting against guerrillas, attempted to destroy UPA-North in Volyn during Operation "BB" (''Bandenbekampfung''). He was chosen specifically by Himmler to destroy the UPA in this operation.<ref name=Anderson>James K. Anderson, Unknown Soldiers of an Unknown Army, ''Army'' Magazine, May 1968, p. 63 </ref>
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Guerrilla war in Ukraine
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| partof = ] from 1944–1945 and the ]
| place = ] and ]
| date = 1944–1956
| result = Soviet-Polish victory
* Defeat of national partisans
| combatant1 = {{flag|Soviet Union}}<br />{{flagicon|Poland|(1928–1980).svg}} ]
| combatant2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.svg}} Ukrainian Insurgent Army
| commander1 = {{flagicon|Soviet Union}} ]<br />{{flagicon|Poland|(1928–1980).svg}} ]
| commander2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.svg}} ]{{KIA}}<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.svg}} ]{{KIA|Suicide}}<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.svg}} ]{{POW}}
| strength1 = Variable
| strength2 = ~100,000 partisans (peak)<br />300,000+ partisans (total)<ref>Going by Soviet claims of killed and arrested members.</ref>
| casualties1 = {{flagicon|Soviet Union}} '''Soviet Union:'''<br />'''Source 1:''' '''8,786 dead'''<br />5,587 paramilitaries<br />3,199 regular soldiers<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=http://history.org.ua/LiberUA/Book/Upa/24.pdf|script-title=uk:Розділ 7 – 3. Націоналістичне підпілля в 1949–1956 рр.|trans-title=Chapter 7 – 3. Nationalist Underground During 1949–1956|language=uk|publisher=history.org.ua|page=439|access-date=31 March 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407160435/http://history.org.ua/LiberUA/Book/Upa/24.pdf|archive-date=April 7, 2023}}</ref><br />'''Source 2:'''<br />12,000 dead<br />2,600 missing<br />(late 1944 to early 1945)<ref name="UPA 1944"/><br />'''Source 3:'''<br />15,000 dead<br />(January–July 1946)<ref name=":8">Yuri Tys-Krokhmaliuk (1972). UPA Warfare in Ukraine: Strategical, Tactical, and Organizational Problems of Ukrainian Resistance in World War II. p. 310.</ref><br />'''Source 4:'''<br />7,400 dead<br />9,000+ wounded<br />(May–September 1945)<br />15,000+ dead<br />(January–October 1946)<ref name=":9"/><br />{{flagicon|Poland|(1928–1980).svg}} '''Polish People's Republic:'''<br />'''Source 3:'''<br />5,325+ dead<ref>Yuri Tys-Krokhmaliuk (1972). UPA Warfare in Ukraine: Strategical, Tactical, and Organizational Problems of Ukrainian Resistance in World War II. p. 347, 351, 370-371, 376, 378-380, 382.</ref>
| casualties2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.svg}} '''Ukrainian Insurgent Army:'''<br />'''Soviet claim:'''<br />153,000 dead<br />134,000 arrested<ref name="UIAunconquered2007" /><br />'''Source 3:'''<br />5,000 dead<br />(January–July 1946)<ref name=":8"/><br />'''Source 4:'''<br />5,000 dead or wounded<br />(May–September 1945)<ref name=":9"/>
| casualties3 = 21,888 civilians killed by insurgents<ref name="auto1"/><br />Unknown number of civilians killed by Soviets
}}


The turning point in the struggle against the UPA came in 1947 when the Soviets established an intelligence gathering network within the UPA and shifted the focus of their actions from mass terror to infiltration and espionage. After 1947 the UPA's activity began to subside. On May 30, 1947, Shukhevych issued instructions for joining the OUN and UPA in underground warfare.<ref name="Mykola Vladzimirsky">{{cite web|first=Mykola|last=Vladzimirsky|url=http://warhistory.ukrlife.org/5_6_02_7.htm|title='Воєнна історія' #5–6 за 2002 рік Війна після війни|publisher=Warhistory.ukrlife.org|access-date=15 October 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404064307/http://warhistory.ukrlife.org/5_6_02_7.htm|archive-date=April 4, 2023}}</ref> In 1947–1948 UPA resistance was weakened enough to allow the Soviets to begin implementation of large-scale ] throughout Western Ukraine.{{sfn|Zhukov|2016}}
However ], According to German data since spring 1943, was responsible for overall command of anti-partisan’s actions at controlled by Germans territory and especially he involved in actions in Central Russia (present ] territory) and never for Ukraine. Such data also confirmed by him during interrogation at ] <ref> IMT materials Vol.7</ref> <ref>Höhne, Heinz The Order of the Death's Head: The Story of Hitler's SS. (Der Orden unter dem Totenkopf: Die Geschichte der SS). First published in 1967</ref>


In 1948, the Soviet central authorities purged local officials who had mistreated peasants and engaged in "vicious methods". At the same time, Soviet agents planted within the UPA had taken their toll on morale and on the UPA's effectiveness. According to the writing of one slain Ukrainian rebel, "the Bolsheviks tried to take us from within...you can never know exactly in whose hands you will find yourself. From such a network of spies, the work of whole teams is often penetrated...". In November 1948, the work of Soviet agents led to two important victories against the UPA: the defeat and deaths of the heads of the most active UPA network in Western Ukraine, and the removal of "Myron", the head of the UPA's counter-intelligence SB unit.<ref name="Burds1996" />{{rp|125–130}}
According to the UPA/OUN, the initial stage of “BB” (Bandenbekempfung) operation under the command of Sturbahnfuehrer SS General Platle and later under General Hintzler against the UPA produced no results whatsoever. This catastrophic development was the subject of several discussions by Himmler's staff that resulted in the sending to Ukraine of ], responsible only to Hitler himself.<ref> Yuriy Tys- Krokhmaluk, UPA Warfare in Ukraine. New York, N.Y. Society of Veterans of Ukrainian Insurgent Army Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 72-80823 p.238-239 </ref>


The Soviet authorities tried to win over the local population by making significant economic investments in Western Ukraine,{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}} and by setting up rapid reaction groups in many regions to combat the UPA. According to one retired ] major, "By 1948 ideologically we had the support of most of the population."<ref name="Perekrest" /> The UPA's leader, ], was killed during an ambush near ] on 5 March 1950. Although sporadic UPA activity continued until the mid-1950s, after Shukhevich's death the UPA rapidly lost its fighting capability. An assessment of UPA manpower by Soviet authorities on 17 April 1952 claimed that UPA/OUN had only 84 fighting units consisting of 252 persons. The UPA's last commander, ], was captured on 24 May 1954. Despite the existence of some insurgent groups, according to a report by the ] of the Ukrainian SSR, the "liquidation of armed units and OUN underground was accomplished by the beginning of 1956".<ref name="Mykola Vladzimirsky" />
However “General Platle” “General Hintzler” does not mentioned amongst high command staff of the SS . <ref> IMT official text Vol.XXX </ref> <ref> Höhne, Heinz The Order of the Death's Head: The Story of Hitler's SS. (Der Orden unter dem Totenkopf: Die Geschichte der SS). First published in 1967. </ref>


]<ref name="Wilson">{{cite book|first=A.|last=Wilson|title=Virtual Politics: Faking Democracy in the Post-Soviet World|location=New Haven|publisher=]|year=2005|page=15}}</ref> are known to have committed atrocities against the ] population in order to discredit the UPA.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Taras|last=Kuzio|author-link=Taras Kuzio|url=http://ukrweekly.com/Archive/2002/300202.shtml|title=Ukrainian government prepares bill on recognition of OUN-UPA|journal=]|volume=LXX|issue=30|date=28 July 2002|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930031611/http://ukrweekly.com/Archive/2002/300202.shtml|archive-date=30 September 2007}}</ref> Among these NKVD units were those composed of former UPA fighters working for the NKVD.<ref>Ivan Bilas. Repressive-punishment system in Ukraine. 1917–1953 Vol.2 Kyiv Lybid-Viysko Ukrainy, 1994 {{ISBN|5-325-00599-5}} pp. 460–464, 470–477</ref> The ] (SBU) recently published information that about 150 such special groups consisting of 1,800 people operated until 1954.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukranews.com/eng/article/84498.html|title=SBU Unveils Documents About Operations Of Soviet Security Ministry's Special Groups In Western Ukraine In 1944–1954|publisher=Ukranews.com|date=30 November 2007|access-date=15 October 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071203015442/http://www.ukranews.com/eng/article/84498.html|archive-date=3 December 2007}}</ref> Prominent people killed by UPA insurgents during the anti-Soviet struggle included Metropolitan Oleksiy (Hromadsky) of the ], killed while traveling in a German convoy,<ref name="Armstrong">John Armstrong (1963). ''Ukrainian Nationalism''. New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 205–206</ref> and pro-Soviet writer ].<ref name="Perekrest" />
According to UPA/OUN(B) estimates, during Operation "BB" Bach-Zalewski had under his disposal 10 battalions of motorized SS troops with heavy weapons and artillery, 10,000 German and Polish police, 2 regiments of the Hungarian army, and three battalions of ] organized from among Soviet POWs and 50 tanks, 27 planes and 5 armoured trains.<ref name="Krohmaliuk242">{{cite book| author=Krokhmaluk, Y. | title=UPA Warfare in Ukraine| location= New York | publisher= Vantage Press | year = 1973| pages = p. 242}}</ref> Another UPA estimate assessed the situation during Operation "BB" as follows: Germans send military division which formed from SS regiment, 2 Hungarian regiments, Cossacks regiment and unit of German gendarmes. Their losses from UPA was – 193 persons.<ref> P.Mirchuk “Ukrainian Insurgent Army 1942-1952” –Munich; 1953 p.41-42 </ref> By August, the operation proved to be a military failure.On August 19-20, the UPA captured the military center of Kamin Koshyrsky, defeating several German battalions and capturing large quantities of arms and ammunition.<ref name="Krohmaliuk">{{cite book| author=Krokhmaluk, Y. | title=UPA Warfare in Ukraine| location= New York | publisher= Vantage Press | year = 1973| pages = (page 242)}}</ref>As a result of the complete failure of the operations General von dem Bach-Zalewski recalled from his command.<ref> Yuriy Tys- Krokhmaluk, UPA Warfare in Ukraine. New York, N.Y. Society of Veterans of Ukrainian Insurgent Army Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 72-80823 p.140-142 </ref>


In 1951, CIA covert operations chief ] estimated that some 35,000 Soviet police troops and Communist party cadres had been eliminated by guerrillas affiliated with the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in the period after the end of World War II. Official Soviet figures for the losses inflicted by all types of Ukrainian nationalists during the period 1944–1953 referred to 30,676 persons; amongst them were 687 NKGB-MGB personnel, 1,864 NKVD-MVD personnel, 3,199 Soviet Army, Border Guards, and NKVD-MVD troops, 241 Communist party leaders, 205 ] leaders and 2,590 members of self-defense units. According to Soviet data, the remaining losses were among civilians, including 15,355 peasants and kolkhozniks.<ref name="auto1" /> Soviet archives state that between February 1944 and January 1946 the Soviet forces conducted 39,778 operations against the UPA, during which they killed a total of 103,313, captured a total of 8,370 OUN members and captured a total of 15,959 active insurgents.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://history.org.ua/oun_upa/upa/21.pdf|script-title=uk:Розділ 6 – 5. Боротьба радянських силових структур проти ОУН і УПА в 1944 р.|trans-title=Chapter 6 – 5. Combat of the Soviet power structures against the OUN and UPA in 1944|language=uk|publisher=Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine|pages=385–386|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411144123/http://history.org.ua/oun_upa/upa/21.pdf|archive-date=11 April 2008}}</ref> Many UPA members were imprisoned in the Gulag. They actively participated in Gulag uprisings of ], ], and ].{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}<!---
However , the “Bandenbekempfung” operations were not conducted exclusively against UPA <ref> Blood, Philip W.Hitler's Bandit Hunters: The SS and the Nazi Occupation of Europe Potomac Books Inc.ISBN: 159797157X</ref>. In August 1942, Hitler directed all German state institutions to assist Heinrich Himmler, the chief of the SS and the German police, in eradicating armed resistance in the newly occupied territories of Eastern Europe and Russia. The directive for "combating banditry" (Bandenbekampfung) became the third component of the Nazi regime's three-part strategy for German national security, with genocide (Endlosung der Judenfrage, or "the Final Solution of the Jewish Question") and slave labor (Erfassung, or "Registration of Persons to Hard Labor") being the better-known others.
== Women in the UPA ==
{{POV|section|date=July 2008}}
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2008}}
The all-national character of the liberation struggle of Ukrainian insurgents is confirmed by the large-scale participation of women. Ukrainian women were amongst the first to assist UPA soldiers, providing them with food, clothing and shelter. This support resulted in the arrest of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian women as "bandit supporters", and their later deportation or execution. At the same time, many women were active members of the UPA. In 1943–44 there was an autonomous women's network. Certain aspects of insurgent activity depended mainly on women. Most couriers and messengers, medical personnel, and workers in the underground printing establishments were women, and women were also active as intelligence agents. Some women occupied high posts in the underground. Kalyna Lukan ("Halyna") was the leader of the Kosiv nadryon leadership, Iryna Tymochko ("Khrytsia") supervised the Verkhovyna nadryon in ], and Daria Rebet was a member of the OUN Leadership and a member of th presidium of the underground parliament.<ref>(Ukrainian) Українська Повстанська Армія – Історія нескорених – Львів, 2007 p. 211</ref>


== Publishing activity of the UPA ==
According to post war OUN/UPA estimates, General Prutzmann, von dem Bach-Zalewski's successor as commander of the "BB" did not introduce any new methods in combating the UPA. The UPA-North grew steadily, and the Germans, apart from terrorizing the civilian population, were virtually limited to defensive actions.<ref> Yuriy Tys- Krokhmaluk, UPA Warfare in Ukraine. New York, N.Y. Society of Veterans of Ukrainian Insurgent Army Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 72-80823 p.242-243 </ref>
{{POV|section|date=July 2008}}
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2008}}
One of the more important aspects of the Ukrainian national liberation movement was its publishing activity. Its principal activities were the publication of propaganda-ideological materials, textbooks, works of military-theoretical character, periodicals and literary works. The first leaflets appeared in 1943, as a way for the Ukrainian movement to wage war against the enemy. The most renowned publicists of the time were Petro Fedun ("Poltava"), Osyp Diakiv ("Hornovy"), Dmyro Mayivsky ("Petro Duma"). In their works they concentrated on the principles of the Ukrainian national liberation struggle, the geopolitical situation in Europe and the world in connection with the Ukrainian question, and problems of national transformations in the USSR and its socialist satellites.


UPA periodicals contained ideological articles, informational reports and decrees, interesting facts from Ukrainian history, and training materials, as well as prose and poetry written by Ukrainian underground members.
According to post-war estimates, the UPA had the following number of clashes with the Germans in mid to late 1943: in July, 35; in August, 24; in September, 15; October-November, 47. "<ref name=""Muk> Ukrainian Institute of Military History, </ref> During the summer of 1943, according to post-war estimates, the Germans lost over 3,000 men killed or wounded while the UPA lost 1237 killed or wounded.<ref name="UPA14_p186"> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, , p. 186</ref><ref> {{cite book | author = L. Shankovskyy | title = History of Ukrainian Army (Історія українського війська) | location = Winnipeg | year = 1953 | pages = p.32 }} </ref> Ultimately the German forces failed to destroy the UPA or to establish control over the Volyn countryside.


Over 130 periodicals were published, along with 500 brochures, dozens of training manuals, memoirs, poetic collections, thousands of leaflets, appeals and responses.<ref>(Ukrainian) Українська Повстанська Армія – Історія нескорених – Львів, 2007 p. 227</ref>
According to post-war OUN(B)/UPA publication the ] saw some of the heaviest fighting between UPA and German forces in late 1943 and early 1944, as the UPA struggled to maintain control over several of the mountain passes. In one engagement, Ukrainian insurgents numbering about 600 men (including numbers of Ukrainian self-defense force), invoked the panic and retreat of 2 German divisions which initially took up positions in the villages of Maidan, Posich and Zaviy on November 27, 1943. As the result of this operation the Ukrainian insurgents captured a great quantity of arms and ammunition at the cost only 4 dead and 11 wounded.<ref> Yuriy Tys- Krokhmaluk, UPA Warfare in Ukraine. New York, N.Y. Society of Veterans of Ukrainian Insurgent Army Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 72-80823 P.67 </ref>
--->
However German sourced does not mentioned such battles. <ref> V. Kosyk “Ukraine and Germany in WWII” 1993) </ref> Please find high-quality reliable sources if such sources are not available, the material should not be included -->However, Erich Koch in his November 1943 report and New Year 1944 speech mentioned what “nationalistic bands in forests does not have any major threat” for Germans <ref name=""UPA14_p190> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, </ref>.


=== Soviet infiltration ===
Same information mentioned in top secret report as of January 21 1944 from famous soviet partisan commander General-Major Feodorov: “while acting from July 1943 till January 1944 in Volynskaya and Rovenskaya regions we did not seen any facts, when Ukrainian nationalists, excluding numerous brave reports in their own press, conduct any action against German occupants” <ref> Ivan Bilas. Repressive-punishment system in Ukraine. 1917-1953 Vol.2 Kyiv Lybid-Viysko Ukrainy, 1994 ISBN 5-325-00599-5 pp.425-431 </ref>
In 1944–1945 the NKVD carried out 26,693 operations against the Ukrainian underground. These resulted in the deaths of 22,474 Ukrainian soldiers and the capture of 62,142 prisoners. During this time the NKVD formed special groups known as ''spetshrupy'' made up of former Soviet partisans. The goal of these groups was to discredit and disorganize the OUN and UPA. In August 1944, ] was placed under NKVD authority. Posing as Ukrainian insurgents, these special formations used violence against the civilian population of Western Ukraine. In June 1945 there were 156 such special groups with 1,783 members.<ref name="UIAunconquered2007">{{cite book|editor-first=Volodymyr |editor-last=Viatrovych |editor-link=Volodymyr Viatrovych |last1=Viatrovych |first1=V. |author-link1=Volodymyr Viatrovych |last2=Hrytskiv |first2=R. |last3=Dereviany |first3=I. |last4=Zabily |first4=R. |last5=Sova |first5=A. |last6=Sodol |first6=P. |script-title=uk:Українська Повстанська Армія – Історія нескорених |trans-title=Ukrainian Insurgent Army – History of the unconquered |language=uk |publisher=Lviv Liberation Movement Research Centre |year=2007 |pages=307–310}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable (]). see ]|date=January 2023}}
<!--According to the UPA/OUN post-war claim, in July 1944, two more attempts by the Germans to capture the Carpathian mountain passes were repulsed. Near the villages of Kamyanka and Lypa, 3 insurgent battalions repulsed the incursions of 2 German SS divisions, totaling 30,000 soldiers (7-9 July), and on the 12th of July Germans reinforced them with a 3rd division. These Divisions were alternatively described as SS and as police Divisions by UPA/OUN sources, Avoiding direct confrontation, the UPA battalions inflicted a high number of casualties through sniping, ambushes, and attacks from the flanks and rear while abandoning their fixed positions. On 14-16 of July all of the German Divisions retreated with the loss over 600 dead. The insurgents suffered only a dozen casualties.<ref> Yuriy Tys- Krokhmaluk, UPA Warfare in Ukraine. New York, N.Y. Society of Veterans of Ukrainian Insurgent Army Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 72-80823 P.69-73 </ref>
Although according to German data and mainstream historians there were no SS divisions at this time in the mentioned area.<ref> Wegner, B. (1990). The Waffen-SS. Padstow: TJ Press. </ref>.<ref> Williamson, G., & Andrew, S. (2004a). The Waffen-SS (2): 6 to 10 Divisions. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.</ref><ref> Williamson, G., & Andrew, S. (2004b). The Waffen-SS (3): 11 to 23 Divisions.
Oxford: Osprey Publishing. </ref><ref> Tieke, W. (1999). In the Firestorm of the Last Years of the War: II SS-Panzerkorps
with the 9 and 10 SS-Divisions "Hohenstaufen" and Frundsberg". Winnipeg: JJ Fedorowicz Publishing </ref>
In November 1943, UPA battle groups "Black Forest" and "Makivka" defeated 12 German ]s supported by the ].
In May 1944 the OUN submitted instructions to "switch the struggle, which was conducted against Germans, completely into a struggle against the Soviets."<ref name=""UPA14> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, </ref>.


From December 1945 to 1946, 15,562 operations were carried out in which 4,200 were killed and more than 9,400 were arrested. From 1944 to 1953, the Soviets killed 153,000 and arrested 134,000 members of the UPA. 66,000 families (204,000 people) were forcibly deported to Siberia and half a million people were subject to repression. In the same period, Polish Communist authorities deported 450,000 people.<ref name="UIAunconquered2007" /> Soviet infiltration of British intelligence also meant that MI6 assisted in training some of the guerrillas in parachuting and unmarked planes used to drop them into Ukraine from bases in Cyprus and Malta, were counter-acted by the fact that one MI6 agent with knowledge of the operation was ]. Working with ], he alerted Soviet security forces about planned drops. Ukrainian guerrillas were intercepted and most were executed.<ref>Ben McIntyre, ''A Spy Amongst Friends'' pp. 134–136</ref>
In a debriefing before U.S. authorities in ], a Committee of former German commanders on the Eastern front claimed that "the Ukrainian Nationalist movement formed the strongest partisan movement in the East, with the exception of the Russian Communists."<ref name="German_commanders">{{cite book| title=Russian Combat Methods in World War II| location= Washington, D.C. | publisher= U.S. Army Center of Military History | year = 1950| pages = 111 }}</ref>


== Holocaust ==
On ], ], near the village of Nedilna, the UPA defeated another German division, and captured its entire supply column, including many officers and soldiers.<ref name="Krohmaliuk">{{cite book| author=Krokhmaluk, Y. | title=UPA Warfare in Ukraine| location= New York | publisher= Vantage Press | year = 1973| pages = (page # missing)}}</ref> Please find high-quality reliable sources if such sources are not available, the material should not be included -->
{{POV section|date=November 2021}}
In general OUN and UPA actions on anti-German front do not play an important role in liberation of Ukrainian territory from Germans occupants.
]
, p. 199</ref>
The OUN pursued a policy of infiltrating the German police to obtain weapons and training for fighters. In that role, it helped the Germans to carry out the ]. The ], working for the Germans, played a crucial supporting role in the murder of 200,000 Jews in Volhynia in the second half of 1942.<ref name="Nations. pg. 162">]. (2004) ''The Reconstruction of Nations.'' New Haven: Yale University Press: p. 162</ref> Most of the police deserted in the following spring and joined the UPA.<ref name="Nations. pg. 162" /> Historian ] estimated in 1990 that the UPA and OUN together hunted down and killed several thousand Jews.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Burzlaff |first1=Jan |title=Confronting the Communal Grave: a Reassessment of Social Relations During the Holocaust in Eastern Europe |journal=The Historical Journal |date=2020 |volume=63 |issue=4 |pages=1054–1077 |doi=10.1017/S0018246X19000566|s2cid=212957318 }}, citing {{cite book |last1=Spector |first1=Shmuel |title=The Holocaust of Volhynian Jews, 1941–1944 |date=1990 |publisher=Yad Vashem |isbn=978-965-308-014-0 |page=256 |language=en}}</ref> With the first antisemitic ideology and acts traced back to the ],{{vague|date=June 2022}} by 1940–1941 the publications of Ukrainian terrorist organizations{{vague|date=June 2022}} became explicitly antisemitic.<ref>{{cite book|first=Elazar |last=Barkan |title=Shared History- Divided Memory: Jews and Others in Soviet Occupied Poland, 1939–1941 |pages=311 |publisher=Leipziger Universitätsverlag |date=2007}}</ref> German documents of the period give the impression that Ukrainian ]{{vague|date=June 2022}} were indifferent to the plight of the Jews and would either kill them or help them, whichever was more appropriate for their political goals.<ref>{{cite book|last=Himka |first=John-Paul |author-link=John-Paul Himka |editor-first=Jonathan |editor-last=Frankel |title=Studies in Contemporary Jewry: Volume XIII: The Fate of the European Jews, 1939–1945: Continuity or Contingency? |chapter-url=http://www.zwoje-scrolls.com/zwoje16/text11.htm |access-date=31 March 2016 |year=1997 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-19-535325-9 |pages=170–189 |chapter=Ukrainian Collaboration in the Extermination of the Jews during the Second World War: Sorting Out the Long-Term and Conjunctural Factors |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224172959/http://www.zwoje-scrolls.com/zwoje16/text11.htm |archive-date=24 February 2017 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
At same time, despite post war OUN/UPA claims (1947), they unable to prevent German deportation for slave works 500,000 of Ukrainians from west regions of Ukraine, nor “Ukrainian peoples looting” by Germans since OUN/UPA does not control German road and especially railways communication network. , p. 180</ref>


According to ], the Soviet partisans were known for their brutality by retaliating against entire villages suspected of working with the Germans, killing individuals deemed to be ], and provoking the Germans to attack villages.{{citation needed|date=July 2018}} The UPA would later attempt to match that brutality.<ref name="Snydershoah">Timothy Snyder. (2008). "The life and death of Volhynian Jewry, 1921–1945." In Brandon, Lowler (Eds.) ''The Shoah in Ukraine: history, testimony, memorialization.'' Indiana: Indiana University Press, p. 101</ref> By early 1943, the OUN had entered into open armed conflict with Nazi Germany. According to Ukrainian historian and former UPA soldier ], immediately upon assuming the position of commander of the UPA in August 1943, ] issued an order banning participation in anti-Jewish activities. No written record of this order, however, has been found.<ref name=Friedman1>{{cite journal|last=Friedman |first=Filip |author-link=Filip Friedman |title=Ukrainian-Jewish Relations During the Nazi Occupation. In: Roads to Extinction: Essays on the Holocaust. |journal=New York: Conference on Jewish Social Studies |page=203 |date=1980}}</ref> In 1944, the OUN formally "rejected racial and ethnic exclusivity".<ref name="Subtelny2000" />{{rp|474}} Nevertheless, ] were often killed by the UPA along with their Polish saviors, although in at least one case, they were spared as the Poles were murdered.<ref name="Snydershoah" /> Some Jews who fled the ghettos for the forests were killed by members of the UPA.<ref>The World Reacts to the Holocaust edited by David S. Wyman, Charles H. Rosenzveig с. 320</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=April 2023}}
===Collaboration===
OUN under Bandera actively cooperate and acted in favors of Germans military and intelligence authorities before and few months after German invasion to Soviet Union in 1941 , p. 15-47</ref>


According to ], Soviet propaganda complained about Zionist membership in the UPA,<ref>{{cite journal|first=Herbert |last=Romerstein |author-link=Herbert Romerstein|url=http://www.iwp.edu/news_publications/detail/divide-and-conquer-the-kgb-disinformation-campaign-against-ukrainians-and-jews |title=Divide and Conquer: the KGB Disinformation Campaign Against Ukrainians and Jews |journal=Ukrainian Quarterly |year=2004 |publisher=Iwp.edu |access-date=31 March 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405190737/https://www.iwp.edu/papers-studies/2004/11/01/divide-and-conquer-the-kgb-disinformation-campaign-against-ukrainians-and-jews/|archive-date=April 5, 2023}}</ref> and during the persecution of Jews in the early 1950s, they described the alleged connection between Jewish and Ukrainian nationalists.<ref>{{cite book|editor-first=Iwan S. |editor-last=Koropecky |title=The Selected Works of Viacheslav Holubnychy |publisher=Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press |page=123}}</ref> One well-known claimed example of Jewish participation in the UPA was most likely a hoax, according to sources such as Friedman.<ref>John Paul Himka. . Himka notes that Bohdan Kordiuk, an OUN member who had been incarcerated in Auschwitz, described Krenzbach's memoirs as false in the newspaper ''Suchasna Ukraina'' (no. 15/194, 20 July 1958), and he wrote, "None of the UPA men known to the author of these lines knows the legendary Stella Krenzbach or have heard of her. The Jews do not know her either. It is unlikely that anyone of the tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees after the war met Stella Krenzbach". Himka also noted that Friedman failed to find evidence of her existence.</ref><ref name="Friedman5">{{cite journal|last=Friedman |first=Filip |author-link=Filip Friedman |title=Ukrainian-Jewish Relations During the Nazi Occupation. In: Roads to Extinction: Essays on the Holocaust. |journal=New York: Conference on Jewish Social Studies |pages=203–204 |date=1980}}</ref> According to the report, ], the daughter of a rabbi and a Zionist, joined the UPA as a nurse and intelligence agent. She is alleged to have written, "I attribute the fact that I am alive today and devoting all the strength of my thirty-eight years to a free Israel only to God and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. I became a member of the heroic UPA on 7 November 1943. In our group I counted twelve Jews, eight of whom were doctors".<ref> posted on the website of the Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities of Ukraine</ref> Later, Friedman concluded that Krenzbach was a fictional character, as the only evidence for her existence was in an OUN paper. No one knew of such an employee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she supposedly worked after the war. A Jew, ], pretended to be Ukrainian.<ref name="mcbride">{{cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/ukraine-nationalists-are-using-a-jew-to-whitewash-their-nazi-era-past-1.5464194 |title=Ukraine's Invented a 'Jewish-Ukrainian Nationalist' to Whitewash Its Nazi-era Past |last=McBride |first=Jared |work=] |date=9 November 2017 |access-date=16 July 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126220733/https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2017-11-09/ty-article/ukraine-nationalists-are-using-a-jew-to-whitewash-their-nazi-era-past/0000017f-e717-d97e-a37f-f777b9fe0000|archive-date=November 26, 2022}}</ref>
<!-- In November 1943, UPA battle groups "Black Forest" and "Makivka" defeated 12 German ]s supported by the ]. -->
In autumn 1943 some detachments of UPA began to find rapprochement with Germans. Although doing so was condemned by an OUN/UPA order from November 25, 1943 such actions were not halted <ref></ref>


== Reconciliation ==
In order to fight the mutual Soviet enemy in early January-February 1944, UPA forces in some regions engaged in cooperation with the German Wehrmacht (as for instance with 4-th Tanks Army) . <ref></ref> <!--<ref>Yaroslav Hrytsak, "History of Ukraine 1772-1999"</ref>--> In March UPA detachments concluded a deal with Germans SD and SS in selected regions. In March-July senior leader of OUN(B) in Galicia conducted negotiations with SD and SS officials, which has as a result German decision to supply UPA with arms and ammunitions. However, in the winter and spring of 1944 it would be incorrect to state that there was a complete cessation of armed conflict between UPA and Nazi forces because UPA continued to defend Ukrainian villages against repressive actions of the German administration.<ref></ref> For example, According to OUN/UPA data, on January 20th, 200 German soldiers on their way to the Ukrainian village of Pyrohivka were forced to retreat after a several-hours long firefight with a group of 80 UPA soldiers after having lost 30 killed and wounded.<ref name=""UPA14> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, </ref>.
{{POV section|date=July 2013}}
While, at German document dated March 13, 1944 mentioned “Bandera group preserve full loyalty to all German interests”
In a top secret memorandum, General-Major Brigadefuhrer Brenner wrote in mid-1944 to SS- Obergruppenfuhrer General Hans Prutzmann, the highest ranking German SS officer in Ukraine, that “The UPA has halted all attacks on units of the German army. The UPA systematically sends agents, mainly young women, into enemy-occupied territory, and the results of the intelligence are communicated to Department 1c of the Army Group” on the southern Front.<ref>http://www.history.neu.edu/fac/burds/Gender.pdf </ref> By the autumn of 1944, the German press was full of praise for UPA for their Anti-Bolshevik successes, referring to the UPA fighters as "Ukrainian fighters for freedom"<ref> Martovych O. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). – Munchen, 1950 p.20 </ref> Germans released all OUN commands including S.Bandera and Y. Stetsko.


During the following years, the UPA was officially taboo in the Soviet Union, mentioned only as a terrorist organization.<ref name=washpost>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/05/AR2010010503610.html |title=In Ukraine, movement to honor members of WWII underground sets off debate |first=John |last=Pancake |newspaper=] |date=6 January 2010 |access-date=7 March 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106113401/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/05/AR2010010503610.html|archive-date=6 January 2010}}</ref> Since Ukraine's independence in 1991, there have been heated debates about the possible award of official recognition to former UPA members as legitimate combatants, with the accompanying pensions and benefits due to war veterans.<ref name=washpost /> UPA veterans have also striven to hold parades and commemorations of their own, especially in Western Ukraine. This, in turn, led to opposition from ] veterans and some Ukrainian politicians, particularly from the south and east of the country.<ref name=washpost /> Attempts to reconcile former Polish ] and UPA soldiers have been made by both the Ukrainian and Polish sides. Individual former UPA members have expressed their readiness for a mutual apology. Some of the past soldiers of both organizations have met and asked for forgiveness for their past misdeeds.<ref>{{cite web|first=Jadwiga |last=Nowakowska|url=http://www.wprost.pl/ar/?O=46245 |title=Pojednanie na cmentarzu |trans-title=Reconciliation in the cemetery |language=pl |publisher=Wprost.pl |date=13 July 2003 |access-date=15 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040823013446/http://www.wprost.pl/ar/?O=46245 |archive-date=23 August 2004}}</ref> Restorations of graves and cemeteries in Poland where fallen UPA soldiers were buried have been agreed to by the Polish side.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.money.pl/archiwum/wiadomosci/artykul/85,0,70741.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211095446/http://www.money.pl/archiwum/wiadomosci/artykul/85,0,70741.html |archive-date=11 February 2009 |first=A. |last=Przewoźnik |title=w Polsce nie można stawiać pomników UPA |language=pl |trans-title=UPA monuments cannot be erected in Poland |publisher=Money.pl |access-date=15 October 2013}}</ref>
<!--In a debriefing before U.S. authorities in ], a Committee of former German commanders on the Eastern front claimed that "the Ukrainian Nationalist movement formed the strongest partisan movement in the East, with the exception of the Russian Communists."<ref name="German_commanders">{{cite book| title=Russian Combat Methods in World War II| location= Washington, D.C. | publisher= U.S. Army Center of Military History | year = 1950| pages = 111 }}</ref> not ] source-->


== 2019 official veteran status ==
==UPA's actions against Polish civilians and Polish Nazi-resistance formations==
In late March 2019 former members of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (and other living former members of Ukrainian irregular nationalist armed groups that were active during World War II and the first decade after the war) were officially granted the status of veterans.<ref name="veteransUK38171U"/> This meant that for the first time they could receive veteran benefits, including free public transport, subsidized medical services, annual monetary aid, and public utility discounts (and will enjoy the same social benefits as former Ukrainian soldiers who served in the ]'s ]).<ref name="veteransUK38171U">{{cite news|url=https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/former-wwii-nationalist-guerrillas-granted-veteran-status-in-ukraine.html |title=Former WWII nationalist guerrillas granted veteran status in Ukraine |work=] |date=26 March 2019|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817100723/https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/former-wwii-nationalist-guerrillas-granted-veteran-status-in-ukraine.html|archive-date=August 17, 2022}}</ref>
{{more|Wartime Massacres of Poles in Volhynia}}


There had been several previous attempts to provide former ] fighters with official veteran status, especially during the 2005–2009 administration of ] ], but all failed.<ref name="veteransUK38171U"/> Prior to December 2018, legally only former UPA members who "participated in hostilities against Nazi invaders in occupied Ukraine in 1941–1944, who did not commit crimes against humanity and were rehabilitated" were recognized as war veterans.<ref name="7200429UPAv">{{in lang|uk}} , ] (6 December 2018)</ref>
Accordingly to documents presented to the International Military Tribunal documents Ukrainian organizations (OUN(B)) which are working with Amt ] have same (as Nazi’s) “objectives”, namely, the Poles and the Jews <ref> IMT Vol III p.21</ref>. Such “objects” described as “all farms and dwelling of the Poles should go up in flames, and all Jews be killed” <ref> IMT Vol II p.448 </ref>.
The UPA was active in the ] of Poles from areas that it regarded as indigenously Ukrainian. The methods used included ] and mass-murder of Polish civilians. ] began on a large scale in February-March 1943 in Volhynia region and since autumn 1943 spread over the Galicia and other territories of ]. <ref name> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, </ref> Soviet partisans in the ] region reported that mass terror committed by “nationalists” against the Polish population started in April 1943<ref> Ivan Bilas. Repressive-punishment system in Ukraine. 1917-1953 Vol.2 Kyiv Lybid-Viysko Ukrainy, 1994 ISBN 5-325-00599-5 p.391</ref>). According to the vision of the Polish historians decision about “cleaning of Volhynia from Polish element” was adopted at February 1943 at Third Conference of OUN(B), however According to the vision of some modern Ukrainian historians it was happened by the sole order of Klym Savur (D.Klyachkivskyy) and must be adopted at least on regional level of OUN (B).<ref name> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, </ref> Professor Władysław Filar from Polish ], an eyewitness to the massacres, claims that it is impossible to establish whether these events were ever planned. Although in August 1943 UPA placed notices in every Polish village stating ''"in 48 hours leave beyond the ] or the Sian river - otherwise Death"''<ref name> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, </ref> no known documents exist proving that UPA-OUN made a decision to exterminate Poles in Volhynia.<ref name="FILAR"> </ref> In addition to UPA, Ukrainian peasants also participated in the violence <ref name> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, </ref>, and large groups of armed "bandit" marauders unaffiliated with UPA brutalized civilians. <!-- serving as a useful propaganda tool for the Soviets .<ref> </ref> 1943 event and 1944-48 book--> so the exact number of Poles killed specifically by UPA is unknown. However, UPA also killed ethnic Ukrainians, those who did not cooperate with them, as well as those Ukrainians who had Polish wives. Brutal methods such as beheadings, disemboweling, and killing with knives and axes were employed against Polish villagers. OUN(B) war-time (1943-44) claims as a reasons for anti-polish actions mentioned the AK action against Ukrainians which worked in German Occupancy Administration at end of 1942. Later OUN(B) blamed Poles for cooperation with Germans and Soviet Partisans and since the approaching of Soviet Army – with such. In anti-polish actions since autumn 1943 in Galicia UPA conducted cooperative actions with detachments of regiments of Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (galizische Nr.1) ).<ref name> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, </ref>. The estimates of the number of Poles murdered in Ukraine range from 100,000 to 500,000;{{Dubious|date=May 2008}}<ref name="DAVIES"> Norman Davies. (1996). ''Europe: a History''. Oxford: Oxford University Press </ref> many more Poles left the area because of the UPA actions.


== Monuments for combatants ==
The UPA actions provoked some of the Polish self-defense units and some of ] detachments for retaliation actions, which involve similar methods, however in much less extent. <ref name> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, </ref>
Without waiting for official notice from Kyiv, many regional authorities have already decided to approach the UPA's history on their own. In many western cities and villages monuments, memorials and plaques to the leaders and troops of the UPA have been erected. In ]'s city of ], a memorial to the soldiers of the UPA was erected in 1992.<ref name=DATA>{{cite web|first=Aleksei|last=Grishenko|url=http://www.sq.com.ua/rus/news/obschestvo/12.01.2015/v_etom_godu_v_harkove_vosstanovyat_pamyatnik_upa/|script-title=ru:В Харькове восстановят памятник УПА|trans-title=The monument to the UPA in Kharkov will be restored|language=ru|publisher=sq.com.ua|date=12 January 2015|access-date=7 March 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608134512/http://www.sq.com.ua/rus/news/obschestvo/12.01.2015/v_etom_godu_v_harkove_vosstanovyat_pamyatnik_upa/|archive-date=June 8, 2023}}</ref> In response, many southern and eastern provinces, although the UPA had not operated in those regions, have responded by opening memorials of their own dedicated to the UPA's victims. The first one, "]", was unveiled by the ] in ], Crimea in September 2007.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://lenta.ru/news/2007/09/14/monument/|script-title=ru:В Крыму открыт монумент жертвам бандеровцев|trans-title=In Crimea, a monument to the victims of Bandera has opened|language=ru|publisher=]|date=14 September 2007|access-date=7 March 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404134713/https://lenta.ru/news/2007/09/14/monument/|archive-date=April 4, 2023}}</ref> In 2008, one was erected in ], ], and another in Luhansk on 8 May 2010 by the city deputy, Arsen Klinchaev, and the ].<ref name="Luhansk" /> The unveiling ceremony was attended by ] ], the leader of the parliamentary faction of the Pro-Russian ] ], Russian ] deputy ], Luhansk Regional Governor Valerii Holenko, and Luhansk Mayor Serhii Kravchenko.<ref name="Luhansk">{{cite news|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/66171/|title=Luhansk unveils monument to victims of OUN-UPA|newspaper=]|date=9 May 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606024712/http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/66171/|archive-date=6 June 2011}}</ref><gallery>
File:UPA Monument 2.jpg|Monument to UPA veterans at St. Volodymyr Cemetery, ]
File:Ukraine-Skole-Minipark.JPG|Monument to soldiers of UPA, ], Lviv Oblast, Ukraine
File:Повстанський цвинтар.jpg| Cemetery of UPA soldiers, Antonivci, ], Ukraine
File:Berezhany- (93).jpg|Monument to the soldiers of UPA, ], Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine
File:Пам'ятний хрест Климу Савуру.jpg|Monument to senior UPA commander ] near ], Ukraine
File:Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and other UPA graves in the Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery in South Bound Brook, New Jersey..JPG|Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and other UPA graves in the ] Cemetery in ]
File:The Monument to the soldiers of Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) Kharkiv, Ukraine.jpg|Memorial for UPA soldiers, ], Ukraine
</gallery>


== Commemoration in Ukraine ==
The post war claims what UPA's activities can be seen as a reaction to past ] of the inter-war Polish government, such as shutting down Ukrainian schools and churches or encouraging Polish settlement in the regions considered by OUN to be "ethnically Ukrainian". That statement was dismissed by recent conclusion by Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine work, were main reason of such actions given as both party chauvinism.<ref name> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, </ref>
] of ] and ] wave the UPA flag in May 2011.]]


According to John Armstrong,
<!--The UPA actions resulted in similar reaction of the Polish ] and the extremely brutal conflict escalated out of control with many thousand of civilians being murdered by both Ukrainian and Polish forces.<ref name="Subtelny475">Subtelny, p. 475</ref><ref> look like Subtelnyy join two different scale events in one cup – as usual “have to have visual impact--><!--Speaking of the escalation in violence, a former soldier in a Polish nationalist partisan unit stated "The ethnic Ukrainians responded by wiping out an entire Polish colony, setting fire to the houses, killing those inhabitants unable to flee and raping the women who fell into their hands, no matter how old or how young...we retaliated by attacking an even bigger Ukrainian village and... killed women and children. Some of our men were so filled with hatred after losing whole generations of their family in the Ukrainian attacks that they swore they would take an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth...This was how the fighting escalated. Each time more people were killed, more houses burnt, more women raped." Taken from the chapter Ethnicity, Memory, and Violence: Reflections on Special Problems in Soviet and East European Archives, by Jeffrey Burds, 2005, in ''Archives, Documentation, and the Institutions of Social Memory: Essays from the Sawyer Seminar'', Francis X. BLouin and William G. Rosenberg, eds. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press.</ref> too many attention for unknown “former soldier” – look like justifying UPA -->Estimates of the death tolls from the retaliatory actions of the Polish ] forces include 2 thousand Ukrainian civilians.<ref>J. Turowski, ''Pożoga. Walki 27 Wołyńskiej dywizji AK'', Warszawa 1990, p. 513</ref>, as little as eight hundred,<ref>W.Siemaszko, E.Siemaszko, ''Ludobójstwo dokonane przez nacjonalistów Ukraińskich na ludności polskiej Wołynia 1939-1945, Warszawa 2000</ref> while some Western Ukrainian Diaspora historians prefer to allegedly claim as high as 20 thousand in ] alone.<ref name="RFE"> , Jan Maksymiuk, RFE/RL, May 12, 2006 </ref>
<blockquote>"If one takes into account the duration, geographical extent, and intensity of activity, the UPA very probably is the most important example of forceful resistance to an established Communist regime prior to the decade of fierce Afghan resistance beginning in 1979... the Hungarian revolution of 1956 was, of course, far more important, involving to some degree a population of nine million... however it lasted only a few weeks. In contrast, the more-or-less effective anti-Communist activity of the Ukrainian resistance forces lasted from mid-1944 until 1950."<ref>John Armstrong, ''Ukrainian Nationalism'', 3rd edition. Englewood, Colorado: Ukrainian Academic Press, 1990. {{ISBN|0-87287-755-8}} (2nd ed.: New York: Columbia University Press, 1963) pp. 223–224</ref></blockquote>


] on 100th anniversary (2007) of his birth]]
]
Since 2006, the SBU has been actively involved in declassifying documents relating to the operations of Soviet security services and the history of the liberation movement in Ukraine. The SBU Information Centre provides an opportunity for scholars to get acquainted with electronic copies of archive documents. The documents are arranged by topics (1932–1933 Holodomor, OUN/UPA Activities, Repression in Ukraine, Movement of Dissident).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.for-ua.com/analytics/2008/10/15/120230.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106205108/http://en.for-ua.com/analytics/2008/10/15/120230.html |archive-date=6 January 2009 |title=Articles. Analysis of events in Ukraine. Political and economical Ukraine – ForUm |publisher=En.for-ua.com |date=15 October 2008 |access-date=15 October 2013}}</ref> In 2007, the ] (SBU) set up a special working group to study archive documents of the activity of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) to make public original sources.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nrcu.gov.ua/index.php?id=148&listid=57477 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223135403/http://www.nrcu.gov.ua/index.php?id=148&listid=57477|archive-date=23 February 2012 |title=SBU to study archive documents on activity of Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists / News / NRCU |publisher=Nrcu.gov.ua |access-date=15 October 2013}}</ref>


On 10 January 2008, Ukrainian President ] submitted a draft law "on the official Status of Fighters for Ukraine's Independence from the 1920s to the 1990s". Under the draft, persons who took part in political, guerrilla, underground and combat activities for the freedom and independence of Ukraine from 1920 to 1990 as part of or assisting the ] (UVO), Karpatska Sich, OUN, UPA, and Ukrainian Main Liberation Army would be recognised as war veterans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://zik.ua/en/news/2008/01/11/yushchenko_pushes_for_official_recognition_of_ounupa_combatants_121551|title=Yushchenko pushes for official recognition of OUN-UPA combatants|publisher=Zik.com.ua|date=11 January 2008|access-date=7 March 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224231401/https://zik.ua/en/news/2008/01/11/yushchenko_pushes_for_official_recognition_of_ounupa_combatants_121551|archive-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref> Since September 2009, Ukrainian schoolchildren take a more extensive course of the history of the ] and the fighters of the OUN and the UPA fighters.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-320611.html |title=Schoolchildren to study in detail about Holodomor and OUN-UPA |work=] |date=12 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615153042/http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-320611.html |archive-date=15 June 2009 }}</ref> Yushchenko took part in the celebration of the 67th anniversary of the UPA and the 65th anniversary of ] on 14 October 2009.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/nation/50694 |title=President takes part in celebration of the 67th anniversary of the UPA |work=] |date=14 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091016103113/http://www.kyivpost.com/nation/50694 |archive-date=16 October 2009 }}</ref>
==UPA's action against Soviet Union citizens and Institutions ==
===At controlled by German territories===
] mentioned as the main threat at OUN (B) Congresses decisions since April, 1942. In 1942-beginning 1943 OUN (B) military formations or proponents killed parachuted individual Soviet commandos and betrayed ] underground and small units to Germans. Since UPA creation OUN (B) military formations and first UPA detachments became more active in attacks on ] units. After several unsuccessful actions against well armed and experiences ] they adopt tactics to attack only small detachments of partisans and gain awesome success, - so soviet partisans lost ability to use small commando units against German communications and infrastructure in summer 1943-early 1944.
During Ukrainian partisan leader ] June-September raid deeply into German rear the OUN proponents (by the time there no UPA in ]) and with detachments of regiments of Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (galizische Nr.1) used by German commands as scouts and target designators for air and artillery attacks; on returning small units of Kovpak’s also suffered losses from OUN/UPA ambushes.<ref> http://www.archives.gov.ua/Publicat/Polissya-Karpaty.php </ref>
Since late 1943 – early 1944 ] reported what UPA units acts against them in cooperation with Germans units and prevent partisans actions against German military infrastructure .<ref > Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, [http://history.org.ua/oun_upa/upa/ </ref>


On 16 January 2012, the Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine upheld the presidential decree of 28 January 2010 "About recognition of OUN members and soldiers of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army as participants in the struggle for independence of Ukraine" after it was challenged by the leader of the ], ], recognising the UPA as war combatants.<ref>. 2013-2-5</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Mark |last=Rachkevych |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/high-court-upholds-decree-recognizing-upa-partisans-as-world-war-ii-combatants-320057.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208014932/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/high-court-upholds-decree-recognizing-upa-partisans-as-world-war-ii-combatants-320057.html |archive-date=8 February 2013 |title=High court upholds decree recognizing UPA partisans as World War II combatants |date=7 February 2013 |publisher=] |access-date=15 October 2013}}</ref> On 10 October 2014, the date of 14 October as ] was confirmed by Presidential decree, officially granting state sanction to the date of the anniversary of the raising of the Insurgent Army, which has been celebrated in the past by Ukrainian Cossacks as the ].{{citation needed|date=March 2023}} The date would be moved to 1 October in 2023 with the move of all Orthodox fixed solemnities to the Revised Julian Calendar, but minor commemorations on the 14th continue as usual it was the date in 1942 wherein the UIA was founded.
In 1944, famous Soviet ] agent ] was captured and executed by UPA members, after unwittingly entering their camp while wearing a Wehrmacht officer uniform.<ref>Ihor Sundiukov, "The Other Side of the Legend: Nikolai Kuznetsov Revisited", 24 Jan. 2006. on 18 December 2007.</ref>


On 15 May 2015, Ukrainian President ] signed a bill into law "On the legal status and commemoration of the fighters for the independence of Ukraine in the 20th century", including Ukrainian Insurgent Army combatants.<ref name="decommuUPA">. ]. 15 May 2015</ref> In June 2017, the ] renamed the city's General Vatutin Avenue into Roman Shukhevych Avenue.<ref>{{cite news |title=Kyiv's General Vatutin Avenue renamed Roman Shukhevych Avenue |url=https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/kyivs-general-vatutin-avenue-renamed-roman-shukhevych-avenue.html |work=] |date=1 June 2017|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20230614150920/https://www.kyivpost.com/post/7766|archive-date=June 14, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Court leaves avenues named after Bandera, Shukhevych in Kiev |url=https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/court-leaves-avenues-named-after-bandera-shukhevych-in-kyiv.html |work=] |date=9 December 2019|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211100535/https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/court-leaves-avenues-named-after-bandera-shukhevych-in-kyiv.html|archive-date=February 11, 2021}}</ref> According to Russia's ] in 2018, in ], ], ] and ], the UPA flag may be displayed on government buildings "on certain holidays".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ria.ru/world/20180330/1517631589.html |title=Vinnitsa, a deputy and an activist quarreled because of the banner of the flag |publisher=] |language=ru |date=30 March 2018 |access-date=31 March 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404202942/https://ria.ru/20180330/1517631589.html|archive-date=April 4, 2023}}</ref> In December 2018, Poroshenko confirmed the status of veterans and combatants for independence of Ukraine for UPA fighters.<ref>{{cite news |title=Poroshenko enacts law granting fighters for Ukraine's independence in 20th century combatant status |url=https://www.unian.info/politics/10388085-poroshenko-enacts-law-granting-fighters-for-ukraine-s-independence-in-20th-century-combatant-status.html |work=] |date=23 December 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404132327/https://www.unian.info/politics/10388085-poroshenko-enacts-law-granting-fighters-for-ukraine-s-independence-in-20th-century-combatant-status.html|archive-date=April 4, 2023}}</ref>
===Fighting the Soviet Army (1944-45)===
As the ] succesfully liberated most of Ukraine, the UPA tried to avoid clashes with the regular units of the Soviet military fearing their offensive action would annihilate them. <ref name="Perekrest"> Vladimir Perekrest, former NKVD officer, Source: FSB.ru </ref> <!--Instead, UPA focused its energy on ] units and Soviet officials of all levels, from NKVD and military officers to the school teachers and postal workers attempting to establish Soviet administration after the front line had passed.<ref name="Krohmaliuk">{{cite book| author=Krokhmaluk, Y. | title=UPA Warfare in Ukraine| location= New York | publisher= Vantage Press | year = 1973| pages =}}</ref> please provide a page number -->Soviet archival data shows that UPA attacks were focused on small units and groups of Soviet Army soldiers, commonly ending with brutal killing (burning alive, cutting noses and ears etc) of the captured and wounded. UPA also acted against the mobilization of able-bodied men into the Soviet Army through the extermination of whole families of those who joined. First significant sabotage operations against communications of Soviet Army before their offensive against Germans and Allies UPA-South conducted in April-May 1944. However such actions were promptly solved by Soviet Army and NKVD troops. After initial defeat OUN/UPA submitted an order “to halt all activities, no clashes with forces, preserve old and training the new personnel, prepare to act against soviet in the future.”


On 5 March 2021, the ] named the largest stadium in the city of ] after Roman Shukhevych as the ].<ref name="ukrweekly"/> On 16 March 2021, the ] approved the renaming of their largest stadium after Roman Shukhevych.<ref name="ukrweekly">{{cite news |title=Local governments name stadiums after Bandera and Shukhevych, provoking protest from Israel and Poland |url=http://www.ukrweekly.com/uwwp/local-governments-name-stadiums-after-bandera-and-shukhevych-provoking-protest-from-israel-and-poland/ |work=The Ukrainian Weekly |date=19 March 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405212519/https://www.ukrweekly.com/uwwp/local-governments-name-stadiums-after-bandera-and-shukhevych-provoking-protest-from-israel-and-poland/|archive-date=April 5, 2023}}</ref>
In March 1944, UPA insurgents mortally wounded front commander Army General ], who led the liberation of ].<ref name="Grenkevich,"> {{cite book| author=Grenkevich, L., translated by David Glantz. | title=The Soviet Partisan Movement, 1941-1944: Critical analysis of | publisher= Routledge | year = 1999 | pages = 134}} </ref> According to OUN/UPA claims, several weeks later an NKVD battalion was annihilated by UPA near ], beginning the full-scale struggle in the spring and summer of 1944, involving 30,000 Soviet troops against UPA in Volyn. However Soviet sources for same place and date mentioned Soviet Army communication battalion (women and non fully combat able men) suffered a heavy losses due the “nationalists band” unexpected attack<ref> http://warhistory.ukrlife.org/5_6_02_3.htm </ref>, while soviet troops involved in anti-UPA action listed approximately 8,000 personnel.<ref> Ivan Bilas. Repressive-punishment system in Ukraine. 1917-1953 Vol.2 Kyiv Lybid-Viysko Ukrainy, 1994 ISBN 5-325-00599-5 </ref>


== Popular culture ==
Estimates of casualties vary depending on the source. In a letter to the state defense committee of the USSR, ] stated that 21-27 of April 1944 in 26 clashes between Soviet forces and UPA resulted in 2018 killed and 1570 captured UPA fighters and 11 Soviet killed and 46 wounded. At same time, Soviet archives show that a captured UPA member, responsible for battle report compilation, stated that he received a reports about 200 fighters as UPA losses while their Soviet enemies lost 2,000.<ref name="UPA15_p213"> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, , p. 213-214</ref> New large scale actions of UPA, especially in Ternopilska region, lunched in July-August 1944, when Soviet Army advanced to West, while remain only few battalions in UPA activities areas <ref> Ivan Bilas. Repressive-punishment system in Ukraine. 1917-1953 Vol.2 Kyiv Lybid-Viysko Ukrainy, 1994 ISBN 5-325-00599-5 pp.549-570</ref>
The Ukrainian ] band ] recorded a song entitled ''Ukrainian Insurgent Army'' on its 2006 release, ''Кров у Наших Криницях'' ('']''), dedicated to ]. Ukrainian Neo-Nazi black metal band ] have a song titled "Hailed Be the Heroes" (''Слава героям'') on the ]/''Мировоззрение'' album which contains lyrics pertaining to World War II and Western Ukraine (Galicia), and its title, ''Slava Heroyam'', is a traditional UPA salute.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}
]


Two ] by ], '']'' (''Stíny horkého léta'', 1977) and '']'' (''Pasáček z doliny'', 1983) are set in 1947, and feature UPA guerrillas in significant supporting roles. The first film resembles ]'s '']'' (1971), in that it is about a farmer whose family is taken hostage by five UPA guerrillas, and he has to resort to his own ingenuity, plus reserves of violence that he never knew he possessed, to defeat them. In the second, the shepherd boy (actually a cowherd) imagines that a group of UPA guerrillas is made up of fairytale characters of his grandfather's stories, and that their leader is the Goblin King.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}
<!--By the autumn of 1944, UPA forces enjoyed virtual freedom of movement over an area 160,000 kilometers in size and home to over 10 million people and had established a shadow government.<ref name="Zhukov"> [http://yurizhukov.com/doc/070900_Zhukov_UPA_Final.pdf Yuri Zhukov, "Examining the Authoritarian
Model of Counter-insurgency: The Soviet Campaign Against the Ukrainian Insurgent Army", ''Small Wars and Insurgencies'', v.18, no. 3, pp.439-466] </ref> Unreliable figures – please find more reliable statistics and geographical data-->


Also films such as ''Neskorenyi'' ("]"), ''Zalizna Sotnia'' ("The Company of Heroes") and ''Atentat'' ("Assassination. An Autumn Murder in Munich") feature more description about the role of the UPA on their terrain. ''The Undefeated'' is about the life of ] and the hunt for him by both German and Soviet forces, ''The Company of Heroes'' shows how UPA soldiers had everyday life as they fight against ], ''Assassination'' is about the life of ] and how ] agents murdered him.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}
According to post-war OUN/UPA claims, in November 1944, ] launched the first of several large-scale Soviet assaults on UPA throughout western Ukraine, involving according to OUN/UPA estimates at least 20 ] combat divisions supported by artillery and armored units. While Soviet archival data states that on October 9, 1944 1 NKVD Division, eight NKVD brigades, and an NKVD cavalry regiment with the total number of 26, 304 NKVD soldiers stationed in Western Ukraine. In addition, 2 regiments with 1500 and 1200 persons, 1 battalion (517 persons) and three armored trains with 100 additional soldiers each, as well as 1 border guards regiment and 1 unit were starting to relocate there in order to reinforce them. According to Soviet archives, the NKVD units located in Western Ukraine were: the 9th Rifle division; 16, 20, 21, 25, 17, 18, 19, 23rd brigades; 1 cavalry regiment. Sent to reinforce them: 256, 192nd regiments; 1 battalion three armored trains (45, 26, 42). The 42nd border guard regiment and another unit (27th) were sent to reinforce them. <ref> Ivan Bilas. Repressive-punishment system in Ukraine. 1917-1953 Vol.2 Kyiv Lybid-Viysko Ukrainy, 1994 ISBN 5-325-00599-5 P.478-482 </ref>


]
Exact statistics of UPA and Soviet casualties , in specific time periods, according to data compiled by the NKVD of the Ukrainian SRR: during February - December 1944 “OUN –bandits” suffered the following casualties: 57,405 killed; 50,387 captured; 15,990 surrendered. During the period from January 1, 1945 until May 1,1945 the following casualties were reported: 31,157 killed; 40,760 captured; 23,156 surrendered, - however, by the time reports, noted about significantly overestimating of “killed” UPA by local soviet reporting authorities <ref> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army </ref> . “OUN –bandits'” actions numbered 2,903 in 1944, and from January 1, 1945 until May 1, 1945 - 1,289. During February until December 1944 Soviet losses were: 9,521 "killed and hanged"; 3,494 wounded; 2,131 MIA; amongst them NKVD-NKGB suffered 401 killed and hanged, 227 wounded, 98 MIA and captured. From January 1, 1945 until May 1, 1945 the NKVD and Soviet Army troops suffered 2,513 killed, 2,489 wounded, 524 MIA and captured. Soviet Authorities personnel suffered 1,225 killed or hanged, 239 wounded, 427 MIA or captured. In addition, 3,919 civilians were killed or hanged, 320 wounded, and 814 MIA or captured. <ref> Ivan Bilas. Repressive-punishment system in Ukraine. 1917-1953 Vol.2 Kyiv Lybid-Viysko Ukrainy, 1994 ISBN 5-325-00599-5 pp.604-605 </ref> According to Canadian historian vision, despite the heavy losses, as late as summer ], many ] UPA units still continued to control and administer large areas of territory in western Ukraine.<ref name=Subtelny367>], '''', pp. 489, University of Toronto Press, 2000, ISBN 0-8020-8390-0</ref>
], a 20th-century Ukrainian nationalist.]]
However in February 1945 UPA HQ ordered to liquidate kurins (battalions) and sotnya’s (companies) and act predominantly by choty’s (]s). <ref> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army </ref>
The red-and-black ] of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army was a popular ], and the wartime insurgents have acted as a large inspiration for them.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ukraine Radicals Steer Violence as Nationalist Zeal Grows |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-11/ukraine-radicals-steer-violence-as-nationalist-zeal-grows.html |agency=] |date=11 February 2014|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20210409195224/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-02-11/ukraine-radicals-steer-violence-as-nationalist-zeal-grows|archive-date=April 9, 2021}}</ref> Serhy Yekelchyk of the ] says the use of UPA imagery and slogans was more of a potent symbol of protest against the current government and Russia rather than adulation for the insurgents themselves, explaining "The reason for the sudden prominence of in Kiev is that it is the strongest possible expression of protest against the pro-Russian orientation of the current government."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nst.com.my/world/upa-controversial-partisans-who-inspire-ukraine-protesters-1.474365#ixzz2uUbUWYKi |title=UPA: Controversial partisans who inspire Ukraine protesters |work=New Straits Times |date=31 January 2014 |access-date=16 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303045230/http://www.nst.com.my/world/upa-controversial-partisans-who-inspire-ukraine-protesters-1.474365#ixzz2uUbUWYKi |archive-date=3 March 2014 }}</ref>


=== Films ===<!-- PLEASE RESPECT CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER -->
=== The end of the UPA Spring 1945- spring 1947===
{{more citations needed|date=February 2024}}
Despite a heavy losses and disorganization UPA managed to conduct some actions in 1945 but during the Great Blockade by MVD troops from January 11 until April 10, 1946 UPA in the Carpathian region suffered very heavy losses and ceased to exist as a combat unit.<ref> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army </ref>
* 1951 – '']'' (])
After the huge winter 1945/46 operation OUN/UPA fielded 479 units and had 3,735 fighters, according to an NKVD/M estimate from April 1, 1946. By January 1, 1947 MGB estimated OUN and UPA as having 530 fighting units with 4,456 fighters.
* 1961 – '']'' (])
<!--After the Germany surrendered in May 1945, the Soviet authorities, now gave the insurgencies taking place on its territory in Ukraine, and the Baltics much more priority. First the combat units were re-organised. More special forces were routed. One of the major issues was the local support the UPA had from the population, and that became the top issue for the Soviets. OR-->
* 1962 – '']'' (Polish People's Republic)
From areas were UPA was most active were deported , based on officially Soviet archives state that between 1944 and 1949 a total of 115,820 “supporters of bandits” Theses include deported (1944-47): families of OUN/UPA members–– 15,040 families (37,145) persons; OUN/UPA underground families – 26,332 (77,791 persons) <ref> Ivan Bilas. Repressive-punishment system in Ukraine. 1917-1953 Vol.2 Kiev Lybid-Viysko Ukrainy, 1994 ISBN 5-325-00599-5 P.545-546 </ref> <!--Mass arrests of suspected UPA informants or family members were conducted; between February 1944 and May 1946 over 250,000 people were arrested in Western Ukraine .<ref> </ref> Those arrested typically experienced beatings or other violence. Those suspected of being UPA members underwent extensive torture; reports exist of some prisoners being burned alive. The many arrested women believed to be affiliating with UPA were subjected to months of torture, deprivation, and rape at the hands of Soviet security in order to "break" them and get them to reveal UPA members' identities and locations or to turn them into Soviet double-agents. <ref> http://www.history.neu.edu/fac/burds/Gender.pdf </ref> Mutilated corpses of captured rebels were put on public display.<ref> .</ref>
* 1968 – '']'' (])
* 1970 – '']'' (USSR)
* 1976 – '']'' (USSR)
* 1977 – '']'' (Czechoslovakia)
* 1983 – '']'' (Czechoslovakia)
* 1991 – ''The Last Bunker'' (Ukraine)
* 1991 – ''Carpathian Gold'' (Ukraine)
* 1992 – ''Cherry Nights'' (Ukraine)
* 1993 – ''Memories about UPA'' (Ukraine)
* 1994 – ''Goodbye, Girl'' (Ukraine)
* 1995 – ''Assassination. An Autumn Murder in Munich'' (Ukraine)
* 1995 – ''Executed Dawns''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nashformat.ua/catalog/video/ukrainski_filmy/stracheni_svitanky/ |script-title=uk:Українські фільми: Страчені світанки |trans-title=Ukrainian films: Executed Dawns |publisher=Nashformat.ua |access-date=30 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316111926/http://nashformat.ua/catalog/video/ukrainski_filmy/stracheni_svitanky/ |archive-date=16 March 2016 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> (Ukraine)
* 2000 – '']'' (Ukraine)
* 2004 – ''One – the soldier in the field'' (Ukraine)
* 2004 – ''The Company of Heroes'' (Ukraine)
* 2004 – '']'' (Canada)
* 2006 – '']'' (Ukraine)
* 2006 – ''OUN – UPA war on two fronts'' (Ukraine)
* 2006 – ''Freedom or death!'' (Ukraine)
* 2007 – ''UPA. Third Force'' (Ukraine)
* 2010 – ''We are from the Future 2'' (Russia)
* 2010 – ''Banderovci'' (])
* 2012 – ''Security Service of OUN. "Closed Doors"'' (Ukraine)
* 2016 – '']'' (Poland)


=== Fiction ===
UPA responded to the Soviets by unleashing terror against Soviet activists, suspected collaborators and their families, most of whom turned out to be innocent people This work was particularly attributed to the feared ] (SB), the anti-espionage and punishment wing of OUN (B)/ UPA. In a typical incident in Lviv region, in front of horrified villagers, UPA troops gouged out the eyes of two entire families suspected of reporting on insurgent movements to Soviet authorities, before hacking their bodies to pieces. Due to public outrage about such acts UPA stopped killing the families of those it deemed collaborators by mid 1945. Other victims of UPA included Soviet civilian activists sent to Galicia from other parts of the Soviet Union, who were often forced to recite anti-Stalinist slogans before being brutally executed in public; heads of village Soviets, those sheltering or feeding Red Army personnel, and even people turning food in to collective farms. The effect of such terror was such that people refused to take posts as village heads, and until the late 1940's villages chose single men with no dependents as their leaders.<ref> </ref> bye-bye propagantura find non propaganda charged sources -->
* '']'' ({{lang|uk|Вогненні стовпи}}) by ], 2006.


=== Songs ===
<!--Initially the UPA proved to be especially adept at assassinating key Soviet administrative officials. According to NKVD data, between February 1944 and December 1946 11,725 Soviet officers, agents and collaborators were assassinated and 2,401 were "missing", presumed kidnapped, in Western Ukraine <ref> </ref>. NO NKVD in December 1946 - unreliable data – see exact Bilas fugures-->In one ] in ] alone, from August 1944 until January 1945 Ukrainian rebels killed ten members of the Soviet activ and a secretary of the county Communist party, and kidnapped four other officials. UPA travelled at will throughout the area. In this county, there were no courts, no prosecutor's office, and the local NKVD only had three staff members. <ref> </ref> According to a 1946 report by Khrushchenv's deputy for West Ukrainian affairs A.A. Stoiantsev, out of 42,175 operations and ambushes against UPA by Destructive Battalions in Western UKraine, only 10 percent had positive results - in the vast majority there was either no contact or the individual unit was disarmed and pro-Soviet leaders murdered or kidnapped. <ref> </ref> <!--Morale amongst the NKVD in Western Ukraine was particularly low. Even within the dangerous context of of Soviet state service in the late-Stalin era, West Ukraine was considered to be a "harship post", and personnel files reveal higher rates of transfer requests, alcoholism, and nervous breakdowns and refusal to serve among NKVD field agents there at that time. <ref> </ref> POV -->
The most obvious characteristic of the insurgent songs genre is the theme of rising up against occupying powers, enslavement and tyranny. Insurgent songs express an open call to battle and to revenge against the enemies of Ukraine, as well as love for the country and devotion to her revolutionary leaders (], ] and others). UPA actions, heroic deeds of individual soldiers, the hard underground life, longing for one's girl, family or boy are also important subject of this genre.<ref>Zenon Lavryshyn. Songs of the UPA. Toronto: Litopys UPA, 1996, p. 19</ref>
* Taras Zhytynsky "To sons of UPA"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1xDgcubiWE&feature=player_embedded#! | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211110/m1xDgcubiWE |archive-date=10 November 2021 |url-status=live |title=Синам УПА. Тарас Житинський |trans-title=Sinam UPA. Taras Zhytynsky |language=uk |publisher=YouTube |date=11 February 2010 |access-date=15 October 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* Tartak "Not saying to anybody"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJUCvvJ6puc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727082954/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJUCvvJ6puc&feature=related |archive-date=27 July 2013 |url-status=dead |title=Не кажучи нікому Пісня про УПА Тартак.avi |trans-title=Without telling anyone Song about the UPA Tartak.avi |language=uk |publisher=YouTube |access-date=15 October 2013}}</ref>
* Folk song "To the source of Dniester"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3yK97egw-A |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211110/n3yK97egw-A |archive-date=10 November 2021 |url-status=live |title=До витоку Дністра! Ой у лісі, на полянці.УПА |trans-title=To the source of the Dniester! Oh in the woods, on the glade |language=uk |publisher=YouTube |date=23 September 2009 |access-date=15 October 2013 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* ] – "Ukrainian Insurgent Army"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPKUxiQUnrQ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211110/lPKUxiQUnrQ |archive-date=10 November 2021 |url-status=live |title=Drudkh – Ukrainian Insurgent Army |publisher=YouTube |date=16 October 2015 |access-date=8 September 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref>


== See also ==
<!--The first success of the Soviet authorities came in early 1946 in the Carpathians, which were blockaded from January 11 until April 10. Afterwards the UPA operating there ceased to exist as a combat unit.<ref> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army </ref> The continuous heavy casualties elsewhere forced the UPA to split into small units consisting of 100 soldiers. Many of the troops demobilized and returned home, and the Soviet union offered three amnesties during 1947-1948 <ref name="Perekrest"> Vladimir Perekrest, former NKVD officer, Source: FSB.ru </ref>already noted in previous section -->
{{portal|Ukraine}}
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]


== References ==
By 1946, OUN/UPA was reduced to a core group of 5-10 thousand members, and large-scale UPA activity shifted to the Soviet-Polish border (at Poland territory). Here, in 1947, they allegedly killed the Polish Communist deputy defense minister General ]. In spring 1946, the OUN/UPA established contacts with the Intelligence services of France, Great Britain and the USA.<ref> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army </ref> Although the OUN/UPA obtained assistance from the CIA and British intelligence during the latter phase of its struggle, the operation was betrayed by ]. </ref>
=== Notes ===
{{reflist|group=nb}}


=== Citations ===
The turning point in the struggle against UPA did not come until 1947, when the Soviets were able to establish their own spy network within UPA and when they shifted their struggle from one of mass terror to one of infiltration and espionage. On May 30, 1947 Shukhevych issued instructions joining the OUN and UPA in underground warfare . Only in 1947-] was UPA resistance broken enough to allow the Soviets to implement large-scale ] throughout western Ukraine.<ref name="Zhukov">{{cite journal | first = Yuri | last = Zhukov | authorlink = Y. Zhukov | year = 2007| month = | title = Examining the Authoritarian Model of Counterinsurgency: The Soviet Campaign Against the Ukrainian Insurgent Army | journal = Small Wars and Insurgencies | volume = 18 | issue = 3 | pages = 439-466 | id = | url= http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a785924288~db=all~order=page }}</ref>
{{reflist}}
Official Soviet figures for the losses inflicted by all types of "Ukrainian nationalists" during the period 1944-1953 referred to 30,676 persons; amongst them were 687 NKGB-MGB personnel, 1,864 NKVD-MVD personnel, 3,199 Soviet Army, Border Guards, and NKVD-MVD troops, 241 communist party leaders, 205 komsomol leaders and 2,590 members of self-defense units. According to Soviet data the remaining losses were among civilians, including 15,355 peasants and kolkhozniks.<ref>http://history.org.ua/oun_upa/upa/24.pdf p.439</ref> Soviet archives state that between February 1944 and January 1946 the Soviet forces conducted 39,778 operations against UPA, during which they killed a total of 103,313, captured a total of 8,370 OUN members and captured a total of 15,959 active insurgents.<ref> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, ''Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army'', Chapter 21, pp. 385-386 </ref>


=== Books ===
=== UPA and OUN (B) underground (may 1947-early 1950) ===
'''English'''
May 30, 1947 R.Shukhevych issued instructions joining the OUN and UPA in underground warfare. On May 30, 1947 the Main Ukrainian Liberation Council (Головна Визвольна Рада) adopted the date of October 14, 1942 as the official day for celebrating UPA's creation.
{{refbegin}}
September 3, 1949 R.Shukhevych issued an order, According with the decision of UGLC, about liquidation of UPA units and headquarters as combat and managing structures. All their personnel should be joining the OUN (B) undergrounds. <ref> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army </ref>
* {{cite book|last=Davies |first=Norman |author-link = Norman Davies |title=God's playground: a history of Poland: in two volumes, Vol. 2, Chapter 19 |location=Oxford, New York |publisher=] |year=2005 |isbn=0-19-925340-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Subtelny |first=Orest |author-link=Orest Subtelny |title=Ukraine: A History |location=Toronto |publisher=] |year=1988 |isbn=0-8020-5808-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Taubman |first=William |author-link=William Taubman |date=2004 |title=] |publisher=] |isbn=0-393-05144-7}}
* , ''East European Politics and Societies v. 11''
* ], Roman Hrytskiv, Ihor Derevianyj, Ruslan Zabilyj, Andrij Sova, Petro Sodol'. ''''. Lviv 2009.
{{refend}}
* {{cite journal|format=PDF |last1=Zhukov |first1=Yuri |url=http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/zhukov/files/2007_Zhukov_SWI.pdf?m=1360038945 |title=Examining the Authoritarian Model of Counter-insurgency: The Soviet Campaign Against the Ukrainian Insurgent Army |journal=Small Wars & Insurgencies |volume=18 |issue=3 |year=2007 |access-date=20 January 2016 |pages=439–466 |issn=0959-2318 |doi=10.1080/09592310701674416 |s2cid=9491204|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204005053/http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/zhukov/files/2007_Zhukov_SWI.pdf?m=1360038945|archive-date=February 4, 2017}}


'''Ukrainian'''
<!--At the same time, Soviet agents planted within UPA had taken their toll on morale and on UPA's effectiveness. According to the writing of one slain Ukrainian rebel, "the Bolsheviks try to take us from within...you can never know directly in whose hands you will find yourself. From such a network of spies, the work of whole teams is often penetrated..." In November 1948, the work of Soviet agents led to two important victories against UPA: the defeat and deaths of the heads of the most active UPA network in Western Ukraine, and the annhialiation of "Myron", the head of the UPA's counterintelligence SB unit. <ref> </ref>-->
{{refbegin}}
* Антонюк Ярослав Діяльність СБ ОУН на Волині. – Луцьк : "Волинська книга", 2007. – 176 с.
* Антонюк Ярослав Діяльність СБ ОУН(б) на Волині та Західному Поліссі (1946–1951 рр.) : Монографія. – Луцьк:"Надстир'я-Ключі", 2013. – 228 с.
* (За матеріалами звіту робочої групи істориків Інституту історії НАН України під керівництвом проф. Станіслава Кульчицького)
* Володимир В'ятрович, Ігор Дерев'яний, Руслан Забілий, Петро Солодь. ''Українська Повстанська Армія. Історія Нескорених. Третє видання''. Львів (2011). {{ISBN|978-966-1594-03-5}}.
* Петро Мірчук. ''''. Львів 1991. {{ISBN|5-7707-0602-3}}.
* Юрій Киричук. ''''. Тернопіль 1991.
* С.Ф. Хмель. ''''. Львів 1993.
* Іван Йовик. ''''. Київ 1995. {{ISBN|5-7707-8609-4}}.
* Анатоль Бедрій. ''''. New York – London – Munich – Toronto. 1983.
* Litopys Online. ''''. Various works.
* В´ятрович В. М. Друга польсько-українська війна. 1942–1947. – Вид. 2-е, доп. – К.: Вид. дім "Києво-Могилянська академія", 2012. – 368 с.
{{refend}}


'''Polish'''
Simultaneously the Soviet authorities tried to win over the local population by investing largely into the Western Ukraine, and also setting up a quick dispatch groups in many regions to quickly combat UPA. According to one retired MVD major, by 1948 idiologically we had the support of most population. <ref name="Perekrest"> Vladimir Perekrest, former NKVD officer, Source: FSB.ru </ref> <!--Also the Soviets skillfully exploited Polish-Ukrainian ethnic hatred by using Poles as informants, and to help isolate the UPA helped the Polish government to carry out ] in ].-->
{{refbegin}}
* Wołodymyr Wiatrowycz, Druga wojna polsko-ukraińska 1942–1947, Warszawa 2013, {{ISBN|978-83-935429-1-8}}
* Za to że jesteś Ukraińcem ... : wspomnienia z lat 1944–1947 / wybór, oprac., wstęp i posłowie Bogdan Huk. Koszalin : Stowarzyszenie Ukraińców Więźniów Politycznych i Represjonowanych w Polsce, 2012. 400 s. : il.; 23&nbsp;cm. {{ISBN|978-83-935479-0-6}}
* {{Cite book| first = Andrzej | last = Sowa | title = Stosunki polsko-ukraińskie 1939–1947 | location= Kraków | year = 1998 | oclc=48053561}}
* {{Cite book | first = Grzegorz | last = Motyka | author-link = Grzegorz Motyka (historian) | title = Ukraińska partyzantka 1942–1960 | location = Warszawa | publisher = ISP PAN / RYTM | year = 2006 | url = https://diasporiana.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/books/12960/file.pdf| isbn = 978-83-7399-163-7 |language=pl |trans-title=Ukrainian partisans 1942–1960. Activities of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102171149/https://diasporiana.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/books/12960/file.pdf|archive-date=January 2, 2023}}
* {{Cite book| first1 = Grzegorz | last1 = Motyka | first2 = Rafał | last2= Wnuk | author1-link = Grzegorz Motyka (historian) | author2-link = Rafał Wnuk | title = Pany i rezuny: współpraca AK-WiN i UPA 1945–1947 | language= pl | location= Warszawa | publisher= Oficyna Wydawnicza Volumen | year = 1997 | isbn = 83-86857-72-2|url=https://diasporiana.org.ua/ukrainica/12961-motyka-g-wnuk-r-pany-i-rezuny-wsp-praca-ak-win-i-upa-1945-1947/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221128064623/https://diasporiana.org.ua/ukrainica/12961-motyka-g-wnuk-r-pany-i-rezuny-wsp-praca-ak-win-i-upa-1945-1947/|archive-date=November 28, 2022}}
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420092333/http://pamiec.pl/pa/biblioteka-cyfrowa/publikacje/12487,quotKresowa-ksiega-sprawiedliwych-19391945quot-w-formatach-pdf-epub-i-mobi.html |date=20 April 2019 }}
{{refend}}


== External links ==
Thus after 1947 UPA's activity began to die down. UPA's leader, ], was killed in an ambush near ] on March 5, ]. Although sporadic OUN/UPA underground minor activity continued until the mid 1950's, after Shukhevich's assassination OUN/UPA underground apidly lost its fighting capability. An assessment of OUN/UPA's underground manpower by Soviet authorities in April 17, 1952 indicated that UPA/OUN underground had only 84 fighting units consisting of 252 persons. OUN/UPA's last commander, Vasyl Kuk, was captured on May, 24 1954. Despite the existence of some insurgent (approximately 100 persons) , according to a report by the MGB of the Ukrainian SSR, the "liquidation of armed units and OUN underground was accomplished at the beginning of 1956". .
{{Commons category|Ukrainian Insurgent Army}}
*
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225044414/http://www.upa.com.ua/ |date=25 February 2021 }}
*
*
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126174158/http://oun-upa.ga/ |date=26 November 2015 }} {{in lang|uk}}
*


{{Collaboration with Axis Powers}}
A controversy exists that there were ]<ref name="Wilson">{{cite book| author=Wilson, A. | title=Virtual Politics: Faking Democracy in the Post-Soviet World| location= New Haven | publisher= Yale University Press | year = 2005 | pages = 15}}</ref> and committed atrocities in order to demoralize the ] population.<ref> </ref>; which were those composed of former UPA fighters working for the NKVD.<ref> Ivan Bilas. Repressive-punishment system in Ukraine. 1917-1953 Vol.2 Kyiv Lybid-Viysko Ukrainy, 1994 ISBN 5-325-00599-5 P 460-464, 470-477</ref><ref> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army p.379 </ref> The ] (SBU) recently published information about 150 such special groups consisting of 1,800 people operated until 1954. <ref></ref> However in work of the Institute of Ukrainian History related to UPA published in 2004 mentioned what in March 1949 such groups were reorganized and it usage in Western Ukraine were forbidden. <ref> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army p.427 </ref>
{{World War II}}
<!--One famous example of an ex-UPA turned MVD fighter was ] who would then climb the ladder of MVD (and later KGB) heirarchy to become a foreign agent who assasinated the OUN chief ] in 1957 and ultimately ] himself in ]. Not related to UPA times-->
{{Eastern Bloc}}
{{Resistance in World War II by country}}
{{Authority control}}


]
Prominent people killed by the UPA insurgents during the anti-Soviet struggle included Metropolitan Oleksiy (Hromadsky) of the ] and pro-Soviet writer ] who was hacked dead by an ax. <ref name="Perekrest"> Vladimir Perekrest, former NKVD officer, Source: FSB.ru </ref>
]

]
In 1951 CIA covert operations chief ] estimated that some 35,000 Soviet police troops and Communist party cadres had been eliminated by guerrillas connected with the Ukrainian Insurgent Army after the end of World War II.<ref>
]
{{cite book
]
| last = Simpson
]
| first = Christopher
]
| authorlink = ]
]
| authorlink = David Mumford
]
| title = - America's recruitment of Nazis, and its disastrous effect on our domestic and foreign policy
]
| publisher = ] / ]
]
| year = 1988
]
| pages = 148
| chapter = Guerrillas for World War III
| chapterurl = http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Fascism/Guerrillas_B_CS.html
| isbn = 978-0020449959 }}
</ref> Official Soviet figures for the losses inflicted by all types of "Ukrainian nationalists" during the period 1944-1953 referred to 30,676 persons; amongst them were 687 NKGB-MGB personnel, 1,864 NKVD-MVD personnel, 3,199 Soviet Army, Border Guards, and NKVD-MVD troops, 241 communist party leaders, 205 komsomol leaders and 2,590 members of self-defense units. According to Soviet data the remaining losses were among civilians, including 15,355 peasants and kolkhozniks.<ref>http://history.org.ua/oun_upa/upa/24.pdf p.439</ref> Soviet archives state that between February 1944 and January 1956 the all nationalistic movements (including UPA and OUN underground) lost: killed - 155 018 persons, surrendered -76 753. During same period 103866 persons were arrested for “belonging to nationalistic movements”, 87.756 of them were imprisoned. <ref> Institute of Ukrainian History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, ''Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army'', Chapter 24, pp. 439 </ref>
<!--
==The armaments of the UPA==

For the most part, the UPA used primarily light infantry weapons of those armies that it fought, mostly Soviet and German. Trophy weapons were the basic source for the insurgent arsenals. In 1943-44 during large-scale operations, insurgent forces also used heavy artillery and sometimes even tanks. However, insurgents used heavy technology more as a means of propaganda of their military might, rather than as an actual means of conducting battles, so the light infantry weapon remained the basic weapon used by the UPA<ref>(Ukrainian) Українська Повстанська Армія - Історія нескорених - Львів, 2007 p.203</ref>.

==Women in the UPA==

The all-national character of the liberation struggle of Ukrainian insurgents is confirmed by the large scale participation of women. Ukrainian women were amongst the first to assist UPA soldiers, providing them with food, clothing and shelter. For this, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian women were arrested as "bandit supporters" and were deported or killed. However, many were active members. In 1943-44 there was an autonomous women's network. Certain aspects of insurgent activity depended mainly on women. Most couriers and messengers, medical personnel, workers in the underground printing establishments, and were also active as intelligence agents. Some women occupied high posts in the underground. Kalyna Lukan - "Halyna" was the leader of the Kosiv nadryon leadership, Iryna Tymochko "Khrytsia" supervise the Verkhovyna nadryon in ], Daria Rebet was a member of the OUN Leadership and a member of th presidium of the underground parliament<ref>(Ukrainian) Українська Повстанська Армія - Історія нескорених - Львів, 2007 p.211</ref>.

==Publishing activity of the UPA==

One of the more important aspects of the Ukrainian national liberation movement was its publishing activity. Its main directions were: the publication of propaganda-ideological materials, textbooks, works of military-theoretical character, periodicals and literary works. The earliest leaflets appeared in 1943 and were a way in which the Ukrainian movement waged war against the enemy. The most renown publicists of the time were Petro Fedun "Poltava", Osyp Diakiv "Hornovy", Dmyro Mayivsky "Petro Duma". In their works they concentrated on the principles of the Ukrainian national liberation struggle, the geopolitical situation in Europe and the world in connection with the Ukrainian question, problems of national transformations in the USSR and socialist satellites.

UPA periodicals contained ideological articles, informational reports and decrees, interesting facts from Ukrainian history and training materials as well as prose and poetry of Ukrainian underground members. Please find academic source – please no aircraft carriers/tanks in UPA

Over 130 periodicals appeared, 500 brochures, dozens of training manuals, memoirs, poetic collections, thousands of leaflets, appeals and responses were published<ref>(Ukrainian) Українська Повстанська Армія - Історія нескорених - Львів, 2007 p.227</ref>.Please find academic source-->

== OUN/UPA's and Jews ==
Accordingly to documents presented to the International Military Tribunal Ukrainian organizations (OUN(B)) which are working with Amt ] have same (as Nazi’s) “objectives”, namely, the Poles and the Jews <ref> IMT Vol III p.21</ref>. Such “objects” described as “all farms and dwelling of the Poles should go up in flames, and all Jews be killed” <ref> IMT Vol II p.448 </ref>.

Despite that fact what by the time of UPA establishing at ] (spring-summer 1943) and ] (summer-winter 1943) almost all Jewish population of that areas were exterminated by Nazi’s there is a lack of consensus among historians about the involvement of UPA in the massacre of western Ukraine's Jews.
However should be noted the OUN (B) General Instruction adopted in 1941 “UPA Fights and activities during the war” stated “enemies to us are: moskali (Russians), Poles, Jews…” and thus them must be“… exterminated in fight, especially whom which protect regime: remove to their land, assassinate, predominantly intelligentsia… Jews assimilation is impossible.” , moreover, in minutes of OUN (B) July 1941 Conference of OUN (B) clear visible a plan for partially Jewish population extermination and “ghettoizetion”. Captured ] and ] reports till end of October 1941, which were presented at ] noted about active role especially of OUN (B) groups in “communists and Jewish extermination” at ] <ref> IMT Document 2693-PS, Vol. XXXVIII</ref>. Also ''Ukrainian Auxiliary Police'' and some Schutzmannschaftsbataillons in 1941-42 also consist significant number of OUN (B) proponents.
However, according to a report to the Chief of the Security Police in Berlin dated March 30, 1942, "...it has been clearly established that the Bandera movement provided forged passports not only for its own members, but also for Jews." Such fact also confirmed by few survivors from Lviv Ghetto – they noted what ''Ukrainian Auxiliary Police'' Guards of Ghetto sold faked documents for most richest Jewish families, and some of them able to escape from ghetto, but after some of them were looted and killed by Ukrainian Police, while some returned to ghetto and executed <ref> http://www.archives.gov.ua </ref>
Numerous accounts ascribe to UPA a role in the tragic fate of the Ukrainian Jews under the German occupation.<ref name=EncHol>''Ukrainian Insurgent Army'' in the '']'', Israel Gutman, editor-in-chief. New York: Macmillan, 1990. 4 volumes. ISBN 0-02-896090-4.</ref><ref name=Piotr>], ''Ukrainian Collaboration'' in ''Poland's Holocaust: Ethnic Strife, Collaboration with Occupying Forces and Genocide in the Second Republic, 1918–1947'' pp. 220–59, McFarland & Company, 1998, ISBN 0-7864-0371-3</ref> However some historians (especially from Canadian Ukrainian Diaspora) , do not support the claims that UPA was involved in anti-Jewish massacres.<ref name=Subtelny367>], '''', University of Toronto Press, 2000, ISBN 0-8020-8390-0</ref><ref name="Himka">{{cite journal | first = John-Paul | last = Himka | authorlink = John-Paul Himka | year = | month = | title = War Criminality: A Blank Spot in the Collective Memory of the Ukrainian Diaspora | journal = Spaces of Identity | volume = 5 | issue = 1 | pages = 5-24 | id = | url= http://www.univie.ac.at/spacesofidentity/_Vol_5_1/_PDF/Himka.pdf }}</ref>

It has proven to be difficult to ascribe the particular numbers of Jews alleged to have been killed specifically by UPA. Ukrainians fought in many German military and paramilitary forces such as the ''Ukrainian Auxiliary Police'' , Schutzmannschaftsbataillons and military formation under ] and ] and ] command. However should be noted what on initial stage of UPA formation (late March – beginning of April 1943), it was absorbed from 4 to 6 thousands of ''Ukrainian Auxiliary Police'' as from ], as from ]. Also many high ranked UPA commanders (as also a ]) served in under German command in same areas (Ukraine, Belarus) and in a same time were ] actions taken place.

<!--The Second General Congress of OUN-B (April, 1941, ]) held when the ], the political force behind UPA, had been in alliance with Nazi Germany, declared that the ''"Jews of the USSR the most faithful supporters of the Bolshevik regime and the vanguard of the Muscovite imperialism in the Ukraine."'' Not long afterwards, a slogan put forth by the Bandera faction (recorded in the July 16, 1941 Einsatzgruppen report){{Fact|date=January 2008}} stated: ''"Long live Ukraine without Jews, Poles and Germans; Poles behind the river San, Germans to Berlin, and Jews to the gallows"'' {{Fact|date=December 2007}}. Referenced data included earlier -->According to Canadian Ukrainian historian, by the time of UPA's formation over a year later, the OUN was already at war against Germany and its stance towards national minorities had changed. By 1944, it formally "rejected racial and ethnic exclusivity"<ref name=Subtelny367>], '''', p. 474, University of Toronto Press, 2000, ISBN 0-8020-8390-0</ref>
However, amongst list of “friendly nations”, adopted on III Extraordinary meeting of OUN at August 1943, with which UPA planned to fight “Moscow imperialism” still there no Jews nor Poles nor Russians. Even more, in late 1944 in UPA commanders reports were used Nazi’s propaganda words construction - “Jew-Communist-Bolsheviks” <ref>http://www.history.neu.edu/fac/burds/Gender.pdf </ref>.

There were few cases of Jewish participation within the UPA. Most of such cases reveled in the pro-UPA articles or published by Wester Ukrainian Diaspora, but in same time reliability of such information widely criticized in Jewish community media <ref> http://www.jew.spb.ru/ami/A392/A392-041.html </ref> Jewish participation was particularly visible among its medical personnel. These included Dr. Margosh, who headed UPA-West's medical service, Dr. Marksymovich, who was the Chief Physician of the UPA's officer school, and Dr. Abraham Kum, the director of an underground hospital in the Carpathians. The latter individual was the recipient of UPA's Golden Cross of Merit. Isolated reports of the Jewish families being sheltered by UPA have also surfaced.<ref name= Friedman>{{cite journal | author=Friedman, P. | title=Ukrainian-Jewish Relations During the Nazi Occupation, ''YIVO Annual of Jewish Social Science'' v. 12, pp. 259–96, 1958–59}}</ref> One can conclude that the relationship between UPA and Ukraine's Jews was complex and not one-sided.

== Aftermath ==
], Ukraine]]
]

According to ] professor John Armstrong "If one takes into account the duration, geographical extent, and intensity of activity, the UPA very probably is the most important example of forceful resistance to an established Communist regime prior to the decade of fierce Afghan resistance beginning in 1979...the Hungarian revolution of 1956 was, of course, far more important, involving to some degree a population of nine million...however it lasted only a few weeks. In contrast, the more-or-less effective anti-Communist activity of the Ukrainian resistance forces lasted from mid-1944 until 1950."<ref> John Armstrong, ''Ukrainian Nationalism'', 3rd edition. Englewood, Colorado: Ukrainian Academic Press, 1990. ISBN: 0872877558 (2nd edition: New York: Columbia University Press, 1963) </ref>.
During the period of Soviet Ukraine before 1970, UPA was mentioned by Soviet officials and historians as “German-Ukrainian nationalist bands”, since 1970 word of “UPA” removed from usage and replaced with words “banderovtsy” or “Ukrainian nationalists”. Facts which were provided listed OUN/UPA as Nazi puppet organization with similar methods and ideology. After Ukraine gained independence in ], there have been heated debates to give former UPA members an official recognition as legitimate combatants, with the accompanying pensions and benefits due to war veterans. They have also striven to hold parades and commemorations of their own, especially in Western Ukraine. This, in turn, led to opposition from the Ukrainian veterans of the ] and many Ukrainian politicians particularly in the south and east of the country. Many governments such as ] and ] have negatively reacted to this.

So far the attempts to reconcile the two groups of veterans have made little progress. An attempt to hold a joint parade in ] in May, ], to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of ], proved unsuccessful. The assessment of the historical role of UPA remains a controversial issue in Ukrainian society, although ] ] joined several public Ukrainian organizations in calls for reconciliation, pensions, and other benefits for UPA veterans that would equate them in status with the veterans of the ], and aid the understanding of their role in the chaotic times of UPA operations. In 2007, president Yushchenko awarded the title "]", the country's highest honour to ] ,{{Fact|date=May 2008}} of the ] ], and later UPA leader ].

] Recently, attempts to reconcile former ] and UPA soldiers have been made by both the Ukrainian and Polish sides. Individual former members UPA have expressed their readiness for mutual apology.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Some of the past soldiers of both organisations have met and asked for forgiveness for the past misdeeds.
Restoration of graves and cemeteries in Poland, where fallen UPA soldiers were placed have been agreed to by the Polish side.

In late 2006 the ] city administration announced the future transference of the tombs of ], ], ] and other key leaders of ]/UPA to a new area of ] specifically dedicated to Ukrainian nationalists.

] Cemetary in ].]]

Without waiting for official Kiev notice, many regional authorities have already decided to approach the UPA history on their own. In many western cities and villages monuments, memorials and plaques to the leaders and troops of the UPA have sprung up, including the statue of Stepan Bandera himself which opened in October 2007. In response to this, many eastern provinces responded with opening of memorials to their victims, the first one of which opened in ], ] in September 2007. <ref>Lenta.ru В Крыму открыт монумент жертвам бандеровцев 14.September 2007. 2nd April 2008.</ref>

On January 10, 2008 Viktor Yushchenko, Presidents of Ukraine submitted a draft law "On the Official Status of Fighters for Ukraine’s Independence in 20s-90s of the 20th century". Under the draft, persons who took part in political, guerrilla, underground and combat activities for the freedom and independence of Ukraine from 1920 -1990 as part of the:
* Ukrainian Military Organization (UVO)
* Karpatska Sich
* OUN
* ''UPA''
* Ukrainian Main Liberation Army,
as well as persons who assisted these organizations shall be recognized as war veterans. <ref></ref>

In 2007, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) set up a special working group to study archive documents of the activity of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) in order to make public original sources. This will help to determine what is the "truth" and what is "fabrication". <ref></ref>

==See also==
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

==Footnotes==
==References==
{{reflist|2}}

== Books and Articles ==
* {{cite book | first = Orest | last = Subtelny | authorlink = Orest Subtelny | title = Ukraine: A History | location= Toronto | publisher= University of Toronto Press | year = 1988 | id= ISBN 0-8020-5808-6}}
* {{cite book | first = Norman | last = Davies | authorlink = Norman Davies | title = God's playground: a history of Poland: in two volumes, Vol. 2, Chapter 19 | location = Oxford, New York | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 2005| id= ISBN 0-19-925340-4}}
* {{pl icon}} {{cite book | first = Andrzej | last = Sowa | title = Stosunki polsko-ukraińskie 1939-1947 | location= Kraków | publisher= | year = 1998 | id= ISBN 83-909631-5-8}}
* {{pl icon}} {{cite book | first = Grzegorz | last = Motyka | title = Ukraińska partyzantka 1942-1960 | location= Warszawa | publisher= ISP PAN / RYTM | year = 2006 | isbn = 83-788373-163-8 }}
* {{uk icon}} (За матеріалами звіту робочої групи істориків Інституту історії НАН України під керівництвом проф. Станіслава Кульчицького)
*

==External links==
*
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Latest revision as of 09:29, 24 December 2024

Paramilitary wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists For the 2022 partisan movement, see Ukrainian resistance during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Not to be confused with Ukrainian People's Revolutionary Army, Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine, or Ukrainian People's Army.

Ukrainian Insurgent Army
Українська повстанська армія
Flag of the UPA
Leaders
Dates of operation
  • 14 October 1942–1949
  • 1949–1956 (localized)
Active regions
Ideology
Size20,000–200,000 (estimated)
Part ofOrganization of Ukrainian NationalistsBandera faction
Allies
Opponents

The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrainian: Українська повстанська армія, УПА, romanizedUkrayins'ka Povstans'ka Armiia, abbreviated UPA) was a Ukrainian nationalist paramilitary and partisan formation founded by the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists on 14 October 1942. During World War II, it was engaged in Nazi collaborationism. However, the UPA later launched guerrilla warfare against Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and both the Polish Underground State and Polish Communists. It conducted the massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, which are recognized by Poland as a genocide.

The goal of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) was to drive out occupying powers in a national revolution and set up an independent government headed by a dictator; OUN accepted violence as a political tool against enemies of their cause. In order to achieve this goal, a number of partisan units were formed, merged into a single structure in the form of the UPA, which was created on 14 October 1942. From February 1943, the organization fought against the Germans in Volhynia and Polesia. At the same time, its forces fought an evenly matched war against the Polish resistance, during which the UPA carried out massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, resulting in between 50,000 and 100,000 deaths. Soviet NKVD units fought against the UPA, which led armed resistance against Soviets until 1949. On the territory of Communist Poland, the UPA tried to prevent the forced deportation of Ukrainians from western Galicia to the Soviet Union until 1947.

The UPA was a decentralized movement widespread throughout Ukraine, divided into three operational regions; each region followed a somewhat different agenda, given the circumstances of a constantly moving front line and a double threat from Soviet and Nazi opponents. The UPA was formally disbanded in early September 1949, but some of its units continued operations until late 1956. Officially, the UPA's last military engagement occurred in October 1956, when remnants of the group fought on the Hungarian border region in support of that country's revolution. In March 2019, surviving UPA members were officially granted the status of veterans by the government of Ukraine.

Organization

UPA propaganda poster. The OUN/UPA's formal greeting is written in Ukrainian on two of horizontal lines Glory to Ukraine – Glory to (her) Heroes. The soldier is standing on the banners of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.

The UPA's command structure overlapped with that of the OUN-B—local OUN and UPA leaders were frequently the same person. The OUN's military referents were the superiors of UPA unit commanders. The UPA was established in Volhynia and initially limited its activities to this region. Its first commander was the OUN military referent for Volhynia and Polesie, Vasily Ivachiv. In July, the UPA Supreme Command was organized with Dmytro Klyachkivsky at its head.

Organizationally, the UPA was divided into regions. UPA West operated in Western Ukraine; UPA South, in the centre-southern regions of Podolia, parts of Kyiv region, and parts of Zhytomyr region and Odesa; UPA North, in the northern regions of Volhynia, Rivne, and parts of Kiev and Zhytomyr regions; in eastern Ukraine, the UPA fled north, as Stalinist dictatorship had executed a number of the UPA's participants. The members of UPA East joined other UPA units in Dnipro and in Chernihiv region.

In November 1943, the UPA adopted a new structure, creating a Main Military Headquarters and the General Staff. Roman Shuchevych headed the HQ, while Dmytro Hrytsai became chief of staff. The General Staff consisted of operations, intelligence, logistics, personnel, training, political education, and military inspectors departments. In addition to the three regions named above, there was also an attempt to create a UPA-East region, including Kiev and Zhytomyr regions, but the project never came to fruition. Similarly, the UPA-South region ceased to exist in the summer of 1944, but continued to appear in documents. Three military schools for low-level command staff were also established.

UPA's largest unit type, the kurin, consisting of 500–700 soldiers, was equivalent to a battalion, and its smallest unit, the rii (literally bee swarm), with eight to ten soldiers, equivalent to a squad. Occasionally, and particularly in Volyn, during some operations three or more kurins would unite and form a zahin or brigade. Organizational methods were borrowed and adapted from the German, Polish and Soviet military, while UPA units based their training on a modified Red Army field unit manual.

In terms of UPA soldiers' social background, 60 percent were peasants of low to moderate means, 20 to 25 percent were from the working class (primarily from the rural lumber and food industries), and 15 percent were members of the intelligentsia (students, urban professionals). The latter group provided a large portion of the UPA's military trainers and officer corps. The number of UPA fighters varied: a German Abwehr report from November 1943 estimated that the UPA had 20,000 soldiers; other estimates at that time placed the number at 40,000. By the summer of 1944, estimates of UPA membership varied from 25,000 to 30,000 fighters, up to 100,000, or even 200,000 soldiers.

Structure

The Ukrainian Insurgent Army was structured into three units:

  1. UPA-North
    Regions: Volhynia, Polissia.
    • Military District "Turiv"
      Commander – Maj. Rudyj.
      Squads: "Bohun", "Pomsta Polissja", "Nalyvajko".
    • Military District "Zahrava"
      Commander – Ptashka (Sylvester Zatovkanjuk).
      Squads: "Konovaletsj", "Enej", "Dubovyj", "Oleh".
    • Military District " Volhynia-South"
      Commander – Bereza.
      Squads: "Kruk", "H.".
  2. UPA-West
    Regions: Halychyna, Bukovina, Zakarpattia, Zakerzonia.
    • Military District "Lysonja"
      Commander – Maj. Hrim, V.
      Kurins: "Holodnojarci", "Burlaky", "Lisovyky", "Rubachi", "Bujni", "Holky".
    • Military District "Hoverlja"
      Commander – Maj. Stepovyj (from 1945 – Major Hmara).
      Kurins: "Bukovynsjkyj", "Peremoha", "Hajdamaky", "Huculjskyj", "Karpatsjkyj".
    • Military District "Black Forest"
      Commander – Col. Rizun-Hrehit (Mykola Andrusjak).
      Kurins: "Smertonosci", "Pidkarpatsjkyj", "Dzvony", "Syvulja", "Dovbush", "Beskyd", "Menyky".
    • Military District "Makivka"
      Commander – Maj. Kozak.
      Kurins: "Ljvy", "Bulava", "Zubry", "Letuny", "Zhuravli", "Bojky of Chmelnytsjkyj", "Basejn".
    • Military District "Buh"
      Commander – Col. Voronnyj
      Kurins: "Druzhynnyky", "Halajda", "Kochovyky", "Perejaslavy", "Tyhry", "Perebyjnis"
    • Military District "Sjan"
      Commander – Orest
      Kurins: "Vovky", "Menyky", Kurin of Ren, Kurin of Eugene.
  3. UPA-South
    Regions: Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Zhytomyr Oblast, southern region of Kyiv Oblast, southern regions of Ukraine,
    and especially in cities Odesa, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk, Mariupol, Donetsk.
    • Military District "Cholodnyj Jar"
      Commander – Kost'.
      Kurins: Kurin of Sabljuk, Kurin of Dovbush.
    • Military District "Umanj"
      Commander – Ostap.
      Kurins: Kurin of Dovbenko, Kurin of Buvalyj, Kurin of Andrij-Shum.
    • Military District "Vinnytsja"
      Commander – Jasen.
      Kurins: Kurin of Storchan, Kurin of Mamaj, Kurin of Burevij.

The fourth region, UPA-East, was planned, but never created.

Greeting

World War II-era monument in memory of UPA fighters with inscription "Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!", in place of the Janowa Dolina massacre, Bazaltove, Ukraine

The greeting "Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!" (Slava Ukrayini! Heroiam slava!) was used among members of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).

Anthem

The anthem of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army was called the March of Ukrainian Nationalists, also known as We were born in a great hour (Ukrainian: Зродились ми великої години). The song, written by Oles Babiy, was officially adopted by the leadership of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists in 1932. The organization was a successor of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, whose anthem was "Chervona Kalyna". Leaders of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, Yevhen Konovalets and Andriy Melnyk, were founding members of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. For this reason, "Chervona Kalyna" was also used by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.

Flag

The flag of the UPA was a red-and-black banner, which continues to be a symbol of the Ukrainian nationalist movement. The colors of the flag symbolize "red Ukrainian blood spilled on the black Ukrainian earth. Use of the flag is also a "sign of the stubborn endurance of the Ukrainian national idea even under the grimmest conditions."

Awards

Military ranks

The UPA made use of a dual rank system that included functional command position designations and traditional military ranks. The functional system was developed due to an acute shortage of qualified and politically reliable officers during the early stages of organization.

Holovnyi Komandyr UIA Krayevyi Komandyr Komandyr Okrugu Komandyr zagonu Kurinnyi Sotennyi Chotovyi Royovyi
Supreme
commander
Regional
commander
Division
(military district)
commander
Brigade
(tactical sector)
commander
Battalion
commander
Company
commander
Platoon leader Squad leader

UPA rank structure consisted of at least seven commissioned officer ranks, four non-commissioned officer ranks, and two soldier ranks. The hierarchical order of known ranks and their approximate U.S. Army equivalent is as follows:

UPA RANKS US ARMY EQUIVALENTS
Heneral-Khorunzhyj Brigadier General
Polkovnyk Colonel
Pidpolkovnyk Lieutenant Colonel
Major Major
Sotnyk Captain
Poruchnyk First Lieutenant
Khorunzhyj Second Lieutenant
Starshyj Bulavnyj Master Sergeant
Bulavnyj Sergeant First Class
Starshyj Vistun Staff Sergeant
Vistun Sergeant
Starshyj Strilets Private First Class
Strilets Private

The rank scheme provided for three more higher general officer ranks: Heneral-Poruchnyk (Major General), Heneral-Polkovnyk (Lieutenant General), and Heneral-Pikhoty (General with Four Stars).

Armaments

Initially, the UPA used weapons collected from the battlefields of 1939 and 1941. Later, they bought weapons from peasants and individual soldiers or captured them in combat. Some light weapons were also brought by deserting Ukrainian auxiliary policemen. For the most part, the UPA used light infantry weapons of Soviet and, to a lesser extent, German origin (for which ammunition was less readily obtainable). In 1944, German units armed the UPA directly with captured Soviet arms. Many kurins were equipped with light 51 mm and 82 mm mortars. During large-scale operations in 1943–1944, insurgent forces also used artillery (45 mm and 76.2 mm). In 1943 a light Hungarian tank was used in Volhynia.

In 1944, the Soviets captured a Polikarpov Po-2 aircraft and one armored car and one personnel carrier from the UPA; however, it was not stated that they were in operable condition, while no OUN/UPA documents noted the usage of such equipment. By the end of World War II in Europe, the NKVD had captured 45 artillery pieces (45 and 76.2 mm calibres) and 423 mortars from the UPA. In attacks against Polish civilians, axes and pikes were used. However, the light infantry weapon was the basic weapon used by the UPA.

Formation

1941

UPA Commanders left to right: Oleksander Stepchuk, Ivan Klimchak, Nikon Semeniuk 1941–1942

In a memorandum from 14 August 1941, the OUN (B) petitioned the Germans to create a Ukrainian Army "which unite with the German Army ... until final victory", in exchange for German recognition of an allied, independent Ukrainian state. At the beginning of October 1941, during the first OUN Conference, the OUN formulated its future strategy. This called for transferring part of its organizational structure underground, in order to avoid conflict with the Germans. It also refrained from open anti-German propaganda activities. A captured German document of 25 November 1941 (Nuremberg Trial O14-USSR) ordered:

"It has been ascertained that the Bandera Movement is preparing a revolt in the Reichskommissariat which has as its ultimate aim the establishment of an independent Ukraine. All functionaries of the Bandera Movement must be arrested at once and, after thorough interrogation, are to be liquidated..."

1942

At the Second Conference of the OUN-B, held in April 1942, the policies for the "creation, build-up and development of Ukrainian political and future military forces" and "action against partisan activity supported by Moscow" were adopted. Although German policies were criticized, the Soviet partisans were identified as the primary enemy of the OUN (B) and its future armed wing. The Military Conference of the OUN (B) met in December 1942 near Lviv. The conference resulted in the adoption of a policy of building up the OUN-B's military forces. The conference emphasized that "the entire combat capable population must support, under the OUN banner, the struggle against the Bolshevik enemy". On 30 May 1947, the Main Ukrainian Liberation Council (Головна Визвольна Рада) adopted the date of 14 October 1942—the feast of the Intercession of the Theotokos, and Ukrainian Cossacks' Day—as the official anniversary of the UPA.

Germany

No to Yoska (Joseph Stalin), no to Fritz (Hitler)

The relationship between Ukrainian Insurgent Army and Nazi Germany was complex and varied on account of the intertwined interests of the two actors, as well as the decentralized nature of the UPA.

Despite the stated opinions of Dmytro Klyachkivsky and Roman Shukhevych that the Germans were a secondary threat compared to their main enemies (the Communist forces of the Soviet Union and Poland), the Third Conference of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, held near Lviv from 17 to 21 February 1943, decided to begin open warfare against the Germans (OUN fighters had already attacked a German garrison earlier that year on 7 February). Accordingly, on 20 March 1943, the OUN-B leadership issued secret instructions ordering their members who had joined the collaborationist Ukrainian Auxiliary Police in 1941–1942 to desert with their weapons and join with UPA units in Volhynia. This process often involved armed conflict with German forces trying to prevent this. The number of trained and armed personnel who joined the ranks of the UPA was estimated to be between 4 and 5 thousand.

Ukrainian Auxiliary Police battalion photographed in 1942

Anti-German actions were limited to situations where the Germans attacked the Ukrainian population or UPA units. According to German general Ernst August Köstring, UPA fighters "fought almost exclusively against German administrative agencies, the German police and the SS in their quest to establish an independent Ukraine controlled by neither Moscow nor Germany." During the German occupation, the UPA conducted hundreds of raids on police stations and military convoys. In the region of Zhytomyr insurgents were estimated by the German General-Kommissar Leyser to be in control of 80% of the forests and 60% of the farmland. According to the OUN/UPA, on 12 May 1943, Germans attacked the town of Kolki using several SS-Divisions (SS units operated alongside the Wehrmacht who were responsible for intelligence, central security, policing action, and mass extermination), where both sides suffered heavy losses. Soviet partisans reported the reinforcement of German auxiliary forces at Kolki from the end of April until the middle of May 1943.

In June 1943, German SS and police forces under the command of Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski, the head of Himmler-directed Bandenbekämpfung ("bandit warfare"), attempted to destroy UPA-North in Volhynia during Operation BB (Bandenbekämpfung). According to Ukrainian claims, the initial stage of the operation produced no results whatsoever. This development was the subject of several discussions by Himmler's staff that resulted in General von dem Bach-Zelewski being sent to Ukraine. He failed to eliminate the UPA, which grew steadily, and the Germans, apart from terrorizing the civilian population, were virtually limited to defensive actions.

From July through September 1943, in an estimated 74 clashes between German forces and the UPA, the Germans lost more than 3,000 men killed or wounded, while the UPA lost 1,237 killed or wounded. According to post-war estimates, the UPA had the following number of clashes with the Germans in mid-to-late 1943 in Volhynia: 35 in July, 24 in August, 15 in September and 47 during October–November. In the fall of 1943, clashes between the UPA and the Germans declined, so that Erich Koch in his November 1943 report and New Year 1944 speech could claim that "nationalistic bands in forests do not pose any major threat" for the Germans.

In the autumn of 1943, some detachments of the UPA attempted to find rapprochement with the Germans, despite a 25 November OUN/UPA order to the contrary. In early 1944, UPA forces in several Western regions cooperated with the German Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS, SiPo and SD. Nevertheless, the winter and spring of 1944 did not see a complete cessation of armed conflict between UPA and German forces, as the UPA continued to defend Ukrainian villages against the repressive actions of the German administration. For example, on 20 January, 200 German soldiers on their way to the Ukrainian village of Pyrohivka were forced to retreat after a several-hour long firefight with 80 UPA soldiers after having lost 30 killed and wounded. In March–July 1944, a senior leader of OUN-B in Galicia conducted negotiations with SD and SS officials, resulting in a German decision to supply the UPA with arms and ammunition. In May of that year, the OUN issued instructions to "switch the struggle, which had been conducted against the Germans, completely into a struggle against the Soviets."

In a top-secret memorandum, General-Major Brigadeführer Brenner wrote in mid-1944 to SS-Obergruppenführer General Hans-Adolf Prützmann, the highest ranking German SS officer in Ukraine, that "The UPA has halted all attacks on units of the German army. The UPA systematically sends agents, mainly young women, into the enemy-occupied territory, and the results of the intelligence are communicated to Department 1c of the Army Group" on the southern front. By the autumn of 1944, the German press was full of praise for the UPA for their anti-Bolshevik successes, referring to the UPA fighters as "Ukrainian fighters for freedom" After the front had passed, by the end of 1944 the Germans supplied the OUN/UPA by air with arms and equipment. In the Ivano-Frankivsk region, there even existed a small landing strip for German transport planes. Some German personnel trained in terrorist and intelligence activities behind Soviet lines, as well as some OUN-B leaders, were also transported through this channel.

Adopting a strategy analogous to that of the Chetnik leader General Draža Mihailović, the UPA limited its actions against the Germans in order to better prepare itself for and engage in the struggle against the Communists. Because of this, although the UPA managed to limit German activities to a certain extent, it failed to prevent the Germans from deporting approximately 500,000 people from Western Ukraine and from economically exploiting Western Ukraine. Due to its focus on the Soviets as the principal threat, the UPA's anti-German struggle did not contribute significantly to the recapture of Ukrainian territories by Soviet forces.

Poland

Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia

Main article: Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia See also: Sluzhba Bezpeky and Polish-Ukrainian ethnic conflict
Polish victims of a massacre committed by UPA in the village of Lipniki, 1943
Negotiations between representatives of the Armija Krajowa and OUN in May of 1945 near Lublin

In 1943, the UPA adopted a policy of massacring and expelling the Polish population east of the Bug River. In March 1943, the OUN-B (specifically Mykola Lebed) imposed a collective death sentence on all Poles living in the former east of the Second Polish Republic, and a few months later, local units of the UPA were instructed to complete the operation soon. Among those who were behind the decision, Polish investigators singled out Dmytro Klyachkivsky, Vasyl Ivakhov, Ivan Lytvynchuk and Petro Oliynyk.

The ethnic cleansing operation against the Poles began on a large scale in Volhynia in late February (or early Spring) of that year and lasted until the end of 1944. Taras Bulba-Borovets, the founder of the UPA, criticized the attacks as soon as they began:

The axe and the flail have gone into motion. Whole families are butchered and hanged, and Polish settlements are set on fire. The “hatchet men,” to their shame, butcher and hang defenceless women and children.... By such work Ukrainians not only do a favor for the SD , but also present themselves in the eyes of the world as barbarians. We must take into account that England will surely win this war, and it will treat these “hatchet men” and lynchers and incendiaries as agents in the service of Hitlerite cannibalism, not as honest fighters for their freedom, not as state-builders.

11 July 1943, the Volhynian Bloody Sunday, was one of the deadliest days of the massacres, with UPA units marching from village to village, killing Polish civilians. On that day, UPA units surrounded and attacked 99 Polish villages and settlements in three counties – Kovel, Horokhiv, and Volodymyr. On the following day, 50 additional villages were attacked. In January 1944, the UPA campaign of ethnic cleansing spread to the neighboring province of Galicia. Unlike in Volhynia, where Polish villages were destroyed and their inhabitants murdered without warning, Poles in eastern Galicia were in some instances given the choice of fleeing or being killed. Ukrainian peasants sometimes joined the UPA in the violence, and large bands of armed marauders, unaffiliated with the UPA, brutalized civilians. In other cases however, Ukrainian civilians took significant steps to protect their Polish neighbors, either by hiding them during the UPA raids or vouching that the Poles were actually Ukrainians.

Monument to Poles killed by the UPA, Liszna, Poland

The methods used by the UPA to carry out the massacres were particularly brutal and were committed indiscriminately without any restraint. Historian Norman Davies describes the killings:

"Villages were torched. Roman Catholic priests were axed or crucified. Churches were burned with all their parishioners. Isolated farms were attacked by gangs carrying pitchforks and kitchen knives. Throats were cut. Pregnant women were bayoneted. Children were cut in two. Men were ambushed in the field and led away."

In total, the estimated numbers of Polish and Jewish civilians killed in Volhynia and Galicia is between 50,000 and 100,000. Victims of the UPA included Ukrainians who did not adhere to its form of nationalism and so were considered traitors. After the initiation of the massacres, Polish self-defense units responded in kind. Estimates of Ukrainians killed in acts of reprisal range from 2,000 to 30,000. On 22 July 2016, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland passed a resolution declaring the massacres committed by the UPA a genocide.

Post-war

See also: Operation Vistula, Repatriation of Ukrainians from Poland to the Soviet Union, and Freedom and Independence Association
Westward shift of Poland after World War II. The respective German, Polish and Ukrainian populations were expelled.

After Galicia had been taken over by the Red Army, many units of the UPA abandoned the anti-Polish course of action and some even began cooperating with local Polish anti-Communist resistance against the Soviets and the NKVD. Many Ukrainians, who had not participated in the anti-Polish massacres, joined the UPA after the war on both the Soviet and Polish sides of the border. Local agreements between the UPA and the Polish post-Home Army units began to appear as early as April/May 1945 and in some places lasted until 1947, such as in the Lublin Voivodeship. One of the most notable joint actions of the UPA and the post-Home Army Freedom and Independence Association (WiN) took place in May 1946, when the two partisan formations coordinated their attack and took over of the city of Hrubieszów.

The cooperation between the UPA and the post-Home Army underground came about partly as a response to increasing Communist terror and the forced population exchange between Poland and Ukraine. According to official statistics, between 1944 and 1956 around 488,000 Ukrainians and 789,000 Poles were transferred. On the territories of present-day Poland, 8,000–12,000 Ukrainians were killed and 6,000–8,000 Poles, between 1943 and 1947. However, unlike in Volhynia, most of the casualties occurred after 1944 and involved UPA soldiers and Ukrainian civilians on one side, and members of the Polish Communist Security Office (UB) and Border Protection Troops (WOP). Out of the 2,200 Poles who died in the fighting between 1945 and 1948, only a few hundred were civilians, with the remainder being functionaries or soldiers of the Communist regime in Poland.

Soviet Union

Main article: Anti-Soviet resistance by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army

German occupation

Eastern Bloc
Republics of the USSR
Allied and satellite states
Related organizations
Opposition
Anti-Soviet partisans
Guerrilla war in the Baltic states
Protests and uprisings
Dissent
Cold War events
Fall

The total number of local Soviet partisans acting in Western Ukraine was never high, due to the region enduring only two years of German rule (in some places even less). In 1943, the Soviet partisan leader Sydir Kovpak was sent to the Carpathian Mountains, with help from Nikita Khrushchev. He described his mission to western Ukraine in his book Vid Putivlia do Karpat (From Putyvl to the Carpathian Mountains). Well armed by supplies delivered to secret airfields, he formed a group consisting of several thousand men which moved deep into the Carpathians. Attacks by the German Luftwaffe and military forced Kovpak to break up his force into smaller units in 1944; these groups were attacked by UPA units on their way back. Soviet NKVD agent Nikolai Kuznetsov was captured and executed by UPA members after unwittingly entering their camp while wearing a Wehrmacht officer uniform.

Fighting

As the Red Army approached Galicia, the UPA avoided clashes with the regular units of the Soviet military. Instead, the UPA focused its energy on NKVD units and Soviet officials of all levels, from NKVD and military officers to the school teachers and postal workers attempting to establish Soviet administration.

In March 1944, UPA insurgents mortally wounded front commander Army General Nikolai Vatutin, who captured Kiev when he led Soviet forces in the Second battle of Kiev. Several weeks later an NKVD battalion was annihilated by the UPA near Rivne. This resulted in a full-scale operation in the spring of 1944, initially involving 30,000 Soviet troops against the UPA in Volhynia. Estimates of casualties vary depending on the source. In a letter to the State Defense Committee of the USSR, Lavrentiy Beria stated that in spring 1944 clashes between Soviet forces and the UPA resulted in 2,018 killed and 1,570 captured UPA fighters and only 11 Soviets killed and 46 wounded. A captured UPA member, quoted in Soviet archives, stated that he received reports about UPA losses of 200 fighters against 2,000 Soviet losses. The first significant sabotage operations against communications of the Soviet Army before their offensive against the Germans was conducted by the UPA in April–May 1944. Such actions were promptly stopped by the Soviet Army and NKVD troops, after which the OUN/UPA submitted an order to temporarily cease anti-Soviet activities and prepare for the further struggle against the Soviets.

Despite heavy casualties on both sides during the initial clashes, the struggle was inconclusive. New large-scale actions of the UPA, especially in Ternopil Oblast, were launched in July–August 1944, when the Red Army advanced West. By the autumn of 1944, UPA forces enjoyed virtual freedom of movement over an area of 160,000 square kilometers in size and home to over 10 million people, and had established a shadow government.

Christmas card made and distributed by the UPA, 1945

In November 1944, Khrushchev launched the first of several large-scale Soviet assaults on the UPA throughout Western Ukraine, involving—according to OUN/UPA estimates—at least 20 NKVD combat divisions supported by artillery and armoured units. Soviet forces blockaded villages and roads, and set forests on fire. Soviet archival data states that on 9 October 1944, one NKVD Division, eight NKVD brigades, and an NKVD cavalry regiment with a total of 26,304 NKVD soldiers were stationed in Western Ukraine. In addition, two regiments with 1,500 and 1,200 persons, one battalion (517 persons) and three armoured trains with 100 additional soldiers each, as well as one border guard regiment and one unit were starting to relocate there in order to reinforce them.

During late 1944 and the first half of 1945, according to Soviet data, the UPA suffered approximately 89,000 killed, approximately 91,000 captured, and approximately 39,000 surrendered while the Soviet forces lost approximately 12,000 killed, approximately 6,000 wounded and 2,600 MIA. In addition, during this time, according to Soviet data UPA actions resulted in the killing of 3,919 civilians and the disappearance of 427 others. Despite the heavy losses, as late as summer 1945, many battalion-size UPA units still continued to control and administer large areas of territory in Western Ukraine. In February 1945 the UPA issued an order to liquidate kurins (battalions) and sotnyas (companies) and to operate predominantly in chotys (platoons).

Spring 1945–late 1946

Further information: Sluzhba Bezpeky

After Germany surrendered in May 1945, the Soviet authorities turned their attention to the guerrilla wars taking place in Ukraine and the Baltics. Combat units were reorganized and special forces were sent in. One of the major complications that arose was the local support the UPA had from the population. Areas of UPA activity were depopulated. The estimates on numbers deported vary; officially Soviet archives state that between 1944 and 1952 a total of 182,543 people were deported while other sources indicate the number may have been as high as to 500,000.

Mass arrests of suspected UPA informants or family members were conducted; between February 1944 and May 1946 over 250,000 people were arrested in Western Ukraine. Those arrested typically experienced beatings or other violence. Those suspected of being UPA members underwent torture; reports exist of some prisoners being burned alive. The many arrested women believed to be affiliating with the UPA were subjected to torture, deprivation, and rape at the hands of Soviet security in order to "break" them and get them to reveal UPA members' identities and locations or to turn them into Soviet double-agents. Mutilated corpses of captured rebels were put on public display. Ultimately, between 1944 and 1952 alone as many as 600,000 people may have been arrested in Western Ukraine, with about one-third executed and the rest imprisoned or exiled.

Roman Shukhevych, the leader of the UPA

The UPA responded to the Soviet methods by unleashing their own terror against Soviet activists, suspected collaborators and their families. This work was particularly attributed to the Sluzhba Bezpeky (SB), the anti-espionage wing of the UPA. In a typical incident in the Lviv region, in front of horrified villagers, UPA troops gouged out the eyes of two entire families suspected of reporting on insurgent movements to Soviet authorities, before hacking their bodies to pieces. Due to public outrage concerning these violent punitive acts, the UPA stopped the practice of killing the families of collaborators by mid-1945. Other victims of the UPA included Soviet activists sent to Galicia from other parts of the Soviet Union; heads of village Soviets, those sheltering or feeding Red Army personnel, and even people turning food into collective farms. The effect of such terrorist acts was such that people refused to take posts as village heads, and until the late 1940s villages chose single men with no dependents as their leaders.

The UPA also proved to be especially adept at assassinating key Soviet administrative officials. According to NKVD data, between February 1944 and December 1946 11,725 Soviet officers, agents and collaborators were assassinated and 2,401 were "missing", presumed kidnapped, in Western Ukraine. In one county in Lviv region alone, from August 1944 until January 1945 Ukrainian rebels killed 10 members of the Soviet active and a secretary of the county Communist party, and also kidnapped four other officials. The UPA travelled at will throughout the area. In this county, there were no courts, no prosecutor's office, and the local NKVD only had three staff members.

According to Otto Skorzeny, from May to September 1945 the UPA fought more than 80 battles and lost 5,000 men (killed and wounded); the Soviet losses were 7,400 killed and more than 9,000 wounded. During the night of October 31, 1945 the UPA captured Stanislavov, the former capital of Volhynia. From Ukrainian Christmas Day, January 7, until October 1946 the UPA was forced to fight more than 1,000 battles: Soviet losses were more than 15,000 killed.

According to a 1946 report by Khrushchev's deputy for West Ukrainian affairs A. A. Stoiantsev, out of 42,175 operations and ambushes against the UPA by destruction battalions in Western Ukraine, only 10 percent had positive results – in the vast majority there was either no contact or the individual unit was disarmed and pro-Soviet leaders murdered or kidnapped. Morale amongst the NKVD in Western Ukraine was particularly low. Even within the dangerous context of Soviet state service in the late-Stalin era, West Ukraine was considered to be a "hardship post", and personnel files reveal higher rates of transfer requests, alcoholism, nervous breakdowns, and refusal to serve among NKVD field agents there at that time.

The first success of the Soviet authorities came in early 1946 in the Carpathians, which were blockaded from 11 January until 10 April. The UPA operating there ceased to exist as a combat unit. The continuous heavy casualties elsewhere forced the UPA to split into small units consisting of 100 soldiers. Many of the troops demobilized and returned home, when the Soviet Union offered three amnesties during 1947–1948. By 1946, the UPA was reduced to a core group of 5,000–10,000 fighters, and large-scale UPA activity shifted to the Soviet-Polish border. Here, in 1947, they killed the Polish Communist deputy defence minister General Karol Świerczewski. In spring 1946, the OUN/UPA established contacts with the Intelligence services of France, Great Britain and US.

End of UPA resistance

Guerrilla war in Ukraine
Part of World War II from 1944–1945 and the anti-communist insurgencies in Central and Eastern Europe
Date1944–1956
LocationWestern Ukraine and Zakerzonia
Result

Soviet-Polish victory

  • Defeat of national partisans
Belligerents
 Soviet Union
Poland Polish People's Republic
Ukrainian Insurgent Army
Commanders and leaders
Soviet Union Joseph Stalin
Poland Bolesław Bierut
Dmytro Klyachkivsky 
Roman Shukhevych 
Vasyl Kuk (POW)
Strength
Variable ~100,000 partisans (peak)
300,000+ partisans (total)
Casualties and losses
Soviet Union Soviet Union:
Source 1: 8,786 dead
5,587 paramilitaries
3,199 regular soldiers
Source 2:
12,000 dead
2,600 missing
(late 1944 to early 1945)
Source 3:
15,000 dead
(January–July 1946)
Source 4:
7,400 dead
9,000+ wounded
(May–September 1945)
15,000+ dead
(January–October 1946)
Poland Polish People's Republic:
Source 3:
5,325+ dead
Ukrainian Insurgent Army:
Soviet claim:
153,000 dead
134,000 arrested
Source 3:
5,000 dead
(January–July 1946)
Source 4:
5,000 dead or wounded
(May–September 1945)
21,888 civilians killed by insurgents
Unknown number of civilians killed by Soviets

The turning point in the struggle against the UPA came in 1947 when the Soviets established an intelligence gathering network within the UPA and shifted the focus of their actions from mass terror to infiltration and espionage. After 1947 the UPA's activity began to subside. On May 30, 1947, Shukhevych issued instructions for joining the OUN and UPA in underground warfare. In 1947–1948 UPA resistance was weakened enough to allow the Soviets to begin implementation of large-scale collectivization throughout Western Ukraine.

In 1948, the Soviet central authorities purged local officials who had mistreated peasants and engaged in "vicious methods". At the same time, Soviet agents planted within the UPA had taken their toll on morale and on the UPA's effectiveness. According to the writing of one slain Ukrainian rebel, "the Bolsheviks tried to take us from within...you can never know exactly in whose hands you will find yourself. From such a network of spies, the work of whole teams is often penetrated...". In November 1948, the work of Soviet agents led to two important victories against the UPA: the defeat and deaths of the heads of the most active UPA network in Western Ukraine, and the removal of "Myron", the head of the UPA's counter-intelligence SB unit.

The Soviet authorities tried to win over the local population by making significant economic investments in Western Ukraine, and by setting up rapid reaction groups in many regions to combat the UPA. According to one retired MVD major, "By 1948 ideologically we had the support of most of the population." The UPA's leader, Roman Shukhevych, was killed during an ambush near Lviv on 5 March 1950. Although sporadic UPA activity continued until the mid-1950s, after Shukhevich's death the UPA rapidly lost its fighting capability. An assessment of UPA manpower by Soviet authorities on 17 April 1952 claimed that UPA/OUN had only 84 fighting units consisting of 252 persons. The UPA's last commander, Vasyl Kuk, was captured on 24 May 1954. Despite the existence of some insurgent groups, according to a report by the MGB of the Ukrainian SSR, the "liquidation of armed units and OUN underground was accomplished by the beginning of 1956".

NKVD units dressed as UPA fighters are known to have committed atrocities against the civilian population in order to discredit the UPA. Among these NKVD units were those composed of former UPA fighters working for the NKVD. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) recently published information that about 150 such special groups consisting of 1,800 people operated until 1954. Prominent people killed by UPA insurgents during the anti-Soviet struggle included Metropolitan Oleksiy (Hromadsky) of the Ukrainian Autonomous Orthodox Church, killed while traveling in a German convoy, and pro-Soviet writer Yaroslav Halan.

In 1951, CIA covert operations chief Frank Wisner estimated that some 35,000 Soviet police troops and Communist party cadres had been eliminated by guerrillas affiliated with the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in the period after the end of World War II. Official Soviet figures for the losses inflicted by all types of Ukrainian nationalists during the period 1944–1953 referred to 30,676 persons; amongst them were 687 NKGB-MGB personnel, 1,864 NKVD-MVD personnel, 3,199 Soviet Army, Border Guards, and NKVD-MVD troops, 241 Communist party leaders, 205 Komsomol leaders and 2,590 members of self-defense units. According to Soviet data, the remaining losses were among civilians, including 15,355 peasants and kolkhozniks. Soviet archives state that between February 1944 and January 1946 the Soviet forces conducted 39,778 operations against the UPA, during which they killed a total of 103,313, captured a total of 8,370 OUN members and captured a total of 15,959 active insurgents. Many UPA members were imprisoned in the Gulag. They actively participated in Gulag uprisings of Norilsk, Vorkuta, and Kengir.

Soviet infiltration

In 1944–1945 the NKVD carried out 26,693 operations against the Ukrainian underground. These resulted in the deaths of 22,474 Ukrainian soldiers and the capture of 62,142 prisoners. During this time the NKVD formed special groups known as spetshrupy made up of former Soviet partisans. The goal of these groups was to discredit and disorganize the OUN and UPA. In August 1944, Sydir Kovpak was placed under NKVD authority. Posing as Ukrainian insurgents, these special formations used violence against the civilian population of Western Ukraine. In June 1945 there were 156 such special groups with 1,783 members.

From December 1945 to 1946, 15,562 operations were carried out in which 4,200 were killed and more than 9,400 were arrested. From 1944 to 1953, the Soviets killed 153,000 and arrested 134,000 members of the UPA. 66,000 families (204,000 people) were forcibly deported to Siberia and half a million people were subject to repression. In the same period, Polish Communist authorities deported 450,000 people. Soviet infiltration of British intelligence also meant that MI6 assisted in training some of the guerrillas in parachuting and unmarked planes used to drop them into Ukraine from bases in Cyprus and Malta, were counter-acted by the fact that one MI6 agent with knowledge of the operation was Kim Philby. Working with Anthony Blunt, he alerted Soviet security forces about planned drops. Ukrainian guerrillas were intercepted and most were executed.

Holocaust

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Ukrainian Insurgent Army, September 1944 Instruction abstract. Text in Ukrainian: "Jewish question" – "No actions against Jews to be taken. Jewish issue is no longer a problem (only few of them remain). This does not apply to those who stand out against us actively."

The OUN pursued a policy of infiltrating the German police to obtain weapons and training for fighters. In that role, it helped the Germans to carry out the Holocaust. The Ukrainian Auxiliary Police, working for the Germans, played a crucial supporting role in the murder of 200,000 Jews in Volhynia in the second half of 1942. Most of the police deserted in the following spring and joined the UPA. Historian Shmuel Spector estimated in 1990 that the UPA and OUN together hunted down and killed several thousand Jews. With the first antisemitic ideology and acts traced back to the Russian Civil War, by 1940–1941 the publications of Ukrainian terrorist organizations became explicitly antisemitic. German documents of the period give the impression that Ukrainian ultranationalists were indifferent to the plight of the Jews and would either kill them or help them, whichever was more appropriate for their political goals.

According to Timothy D. Snyder, the Soviet partisans were known for their brutality by retaliating against entire villages suspected of working with the Germans, killing individuals deemed to be collaborators, and provoking the Germans to attack villages. The UPA would later attempt to match that brutality. By early 1943, the OUN had entered into open armed conflict with Nazi Germany. According to Ukrainian historian and former UPA soldier Lew Shankowsky, immediately upon assuming the position of commander of the UPA in August 1943, Roman Shukhevych issued an order banning participation in anti-Jewish activities. No written record of this order, however, has been found. In 1944, the OUN formally "rejected racial and ethnic exclusivity". Nevertheless, Jews hiding from the Germans with Poles in Polish villages were often killed by the UPA along with their Polish saviors, although in at least one case, they were spared as the Poles were murdered. Some Jews who fled the ghettos for the forests were killed by members of the UPA.

According to Herbert Romerstein, Soviet propaganda complained about Zionist membership in the UPA, and during the persecution of Jews in the early 1950s, they described the alleged connection between Jewish and Ukrainian nationalists. One well-known claimed example of Jewish participation in the UPA was most likely a hoax, according to sources such as Friedman. According to the report, Stella Krenzbach, the daughter of a rabbi and a Zionist, joined the UPA as a nurse and intelligence agent. She is alleged to have written, "I attribute the fact that I am alive today and devoting all the strength of my thirty-eight years to a free Israel only to God and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. I became a member of the heroic UPA on 7 November 1943. In our group I counted twelve Jews, eight of whom were doctors". Later, Friedman concluded that Krenzbach was a fictional character, as the only evidence for her existence was in an OUN paper. No one knew of such an employee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she supposedly worked after the war. A Jew, Leiba Dubrovskii, pretended to be Ukrainian.

Reconciliation

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During the following years, the UPA was officially taboo in the Soviet Union, mentioned only as a terrorist organization. Since Ukraine's independence in 1991, there have been heated debates about the possible award of official recognition to former UPA members as legitimate combatants, with the accompanying pensions and benefits due to war veterans. UPA veterans have also striven to hold parades and commemorations of their own, especially in Western Ukraine. This, in turn, led to opposition from Soviet Army veterans and some Ukrainian politicians, particularly from the south and east of the country. Attempts to reconcile former Polish Home Army and UPA soldiers have been made by both the Ukrainian and Polish sides. Individual former UPA members have expressed their readiness for a mutual apology. Some of the past soldiers of both organizations have met and asked for forgiveness for their past misdeeds. Restorations of graves and cemeteries in Poland where fallen UPA soldiers were buried have been agreed to by the Polish side.

2019 official veteran status

In late March 2019 former members of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (and other living former members of Ukrainian irregular nationalist armed groups that were active during World War II and the first decade after the war) were officially granted the status of veterans. This meant that for the first time they could receive veteran benefits, including free public transport, subsidized medical services, annual monetary aid, and public utility discounts (and will enjoy the same social benefits as former Ukrainian soldiers who served in the Soviet Union's Red Army).

There had been several previous attempts to provide former Ukrainian nationalist fighters with official veteran status, especially during the 2005–2009 administration of President Viktor Yushchenko, but all failed. Prior to December 2018, legally only former UPA members who "participated in hostilities against Nazi invaders in occupied Ukraine in 1941–1944, who did not commit crimes against humanity and were rehabilitated" were recognized as war veterans.

Monuments for combatants

Without waiting for official notice from Kyiv, many regional authorities have already decided to approach the UPA's history on their own. In many western cities and villages monuments, memorials and plaques to the leaders and troops of the UPA have been erected. In eastern Ukraine's city of Kharkiv, a memorial to the soldiers of the UPA was erected in 1992. In response, many southern and eastern provinces, although the UPA had not operated in those regions, have responded by opening memorials of their own dedicated to the UPA's victims. The first one, "The Shot in the Back", was unveiled by the Communist Party of Ukraine in Simferopol, Crimea in September 2007. In 2008, one was erected in Svatove, Luhansk oblast, and another in Luhansk on 8 May 2010 by the city deputy, Arsen Klinchaev, and the Party of Regions. The unveiling ceremony was attended by Vice Prime Minister Viktor Tikhonov, the leader of the parliamentary faction of the Pro-Russian Party of Regions Oleksandr Yefremov, Russian State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin, Luhansk Regional Governor Valerii Holenko, and Luhansk Mayor Serhii Kravchenko.

Commemoration in Ukraine

Ultras of FC Karpaty Lviv and FC Dynamo Kyiv wave the UPA flag in May 2011.

According to John Armstrong,

"If one takes into account the duration, geographical extent, and intensity of activity, the UPA very probably is the most important example of forceful resistance to an established Communist regime prior to the decade of fierce Afghan resistance beginning in 1979... the Hungarian revolution of 1956 was, of course, far more important, involving to some degree a population of nine million... however it lasted only a few weeks. In contrast, the more-or-less effective anti-Communist activity of the Ukrainian resistance forces lasted from mid-1944 until 1950."

Ukrainian postage stamp honoring Roman Shukhevych on 100th anniversary (2007) of his birth
Golden Cross "25th anniversary of UPA" of Albert Hasenbroekx [pl; uk] (1967)

Since 2006, the SBU has been actively involved in declassifying documents relating to the operations of Soviet security services and the history of the liberation movement in Ukraine. The SBU Information Centre provides an opportunity for scholars to get acquainted with electronic copies of archive documents. The documents are arranged by topics (1932–1933 Holodomor, OUN/UPA Activities, Repression in Ukraine, Movement of Dissident). In 2007, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) set up a special working group to study archive documents of the activity of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) to make public original sources.

On 10 January 2008, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko submitted a draft law "on the official Status of Fighters for Ukraine's Independence from the 1920s to the 1990s". Under the draft, persons who took part in political, guerrilla, underground and combat activities for the freedom and independence of Ukraine from 1920 to 1990 as part of or assisting the Ukrainian Military Organization (UVO), Karpatska Sich, OUN, UPA, and Ukrainian Main Liberation Army would be recognised as war veterans. Since September 2009, Ukrainian schoolchildren take a more extensive course of the history of the Holodomor and the fighters of the OUN and the UPA fighters. Yushchenko took part in the celebration of the 67th anniversary of the UPA and the 65th anniversary of Ukrainian Supreme Liberation Council on 14 October 2009.

On 16 January 2012, the Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine upheld the presidential decree of 28 January 2010 "About recognition of OUN members and soldiers of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army as participants in the struggle for independence of Ukraine" after it was challenged by the leader of the Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, Nataliya Vitrenko, recognising the UPA as war combatants. On 10 October 2014, the date of 14 October as Defenders of Ukraine Day was confirmed by Presidential decree, officially granting state sanction to the date of the anniversary of the raising of the Insurgent Army, which has been celebrated in the past by Ukrainian Cossacks as the Feast of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary. The date would be moved to 1 October in 2023 with the move of all Orthodox fixed solemnities to the Revised Julian Calendar, but minor commemorations on the 14th continue as usual it was the date in 1942 wherein the UIA was founded.

On 15 May 2015, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a bill into law "On the legal status and commemoration of the fighters for the independence of Ukraine in the 20th century", including Ukrainian Insurgent Army combatants. In June 2017, the Kyiv City Council renamed the city's General Vatutin Avenue into Roman Shukhevych Avenue. According to Russia's RIA Novosti in 2018, in Kyiv, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Zhytomyr, the UPA flag may be displayed on government buildings "on certain holidays". In December 2018, Poroshenko confirmed the status of veterans and combatants for independence of Ukraine for UPA fighters.

On 5 March 2021, the Ternopil City Council named the largest stadium in the city of Ternopil after Roman Shukhevych as the Roman Shukhevych Ternopil city stadium. On 16 March 2021, the Lviv Oblast Council approved the renaming of their largest stadium after Roman Shukhevych.

Popular culture

The Ukrainian black metal band Drudkh recorded a song entitled Ukrainian Insurgent Army on its 2006 release, Кров у Наших Криницях (Blood in our wells), dedicated to Stepan Bandera. Ukrainian Neo-Nazi black metal band Nokturnal Mortum have a song titled "Hailed Be the Heroes" (Слава героям) on the Weltanschauung/Мировоззрение album which contains lyrics pertaining to World War II and Western Ukraine (Galicia), and its title, Slava Heroyam, is a traditional UPA salute.

Cross of Combat Merit

Two Czech films by František Vláčil, Shadows of the Hot Summer (Stíny horkého léta, 1977) and The Little Shepherd Boy from the Valley (Pasáček z doliny, 1983) are set in 1947, and feature UPA guerrillas in significant supporting roles. The first film resembles Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs (1971), in that it is about a farmer whose family is taken hostage by five UPA guerrillas, and he has to resort to his own ingenuity, plus reserves of violence that he never knew he possessed, to defeat them. In the second, the shepherd boy (actually a cowherd) imagines that a group of UPA guerrillas is made up of fairytale characters of his grandfather's stories, and that their leader is the Goblin King.

Also films such as Neskorenyi ("The Undefeated"), Zalizna Sotnia ("The Company of Heroes") and Atentat ("Assassination. An Autumn Murder in Munich") feature more description about the role of the UPA on their terrain. The Undefeated is about the life of Roman Shukhevych and the hunt for him by both German and Soviet forces, The Company of Heroes shows how UPA soldiers had everyday life as they fight against Armia Krajowa, Assassination is about the life of Stepan Bandera and how KGB agents murdered him.

The rally on European Square in Kyiv, 24 November 2013
Headquarters of the Euromaidan. At the front entrance there is a portrait of Stepan Bandera, a 20th-century Ukrainian nationalist.

The red-and-black battle flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army was a popular symbol among Euromaidan protesters, and the wartime insurgents have acted as a large inspiration for them. Serhy Yekelchyk of the University of Victoria says the use of UPA imagery and slogans was more of a potent symbol of protest against the current government and Russia rather than adulation for the insurgents themselves, explaining "The reason for the sudden prominence of in Kiev is that it is the strongest possible expression of protest against the pro-Russian orientation of the current government."

Films

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Fiction

Songs

The most obvious characteristic of the insurgent songs genre is the theme of rising up against occupying powers, enslavement and tyranny. Insurgent songs express an open call to battle and to revenge against the enemies of Ukraine, as well as love for the country and devotion to her revolutionary leaders (Bandera, Chuprynka and others). UPA actions, heroic deeds of individual soldiers, the hard underground life, longing for one's girl, family or boy are also important subject of this genre.

  • Taras Zhytynsky "To sons of UPA"
  • Tartak "Not saying to anybody"
  • Folk song "To the source of Dniester"
  • Drudkh – "Ukrainian Insurgent Army"

See also

References

Notes

  1. OUN-UPA was a terrorist organization, relying on terrorist tactics and collaboration with Nazi Germany that favoured the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) at the expense of more moderate Ukrainian organizations, such as the Ukrainian National Democratic Alliance; not all UPA soldiers were members of the OUN or shared OUN's ideology. UPA was also responsible for the large-scale ethnic cleansing of Poles, such as with the massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, the mass murders of Jews, such as the Lviv pogroms (1941), as well as of Ukrainians during the World War II and post-war anti-Soviet terror campaign in western Ukraine.

Citations

  1. Arad, Yitzhak; Arad, Yitzchak (2010). In the Shadow of the Red Banner: Soviet Jews in the War Against Nazi Germany. Gefen Publishing House Ltd. p. 189. ISBN 978-965-229-487-6. The first UPA unit was officially established on October 14, 1942. …The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrainska Povstanska Armia-UPA) was an arm of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (Orhanizatsia Ukrainskikh Nationalistiv – OUN).
  2. Kondor, Katherine; Littler, Mark (2023). The Routledge Handbook of Far-Right Extremism in Europe. Taylor & Francis. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-000-89703-6.
  3. Rudling, Per A. (2011). "The OUN, the UPA and the Holocaust: A Study in the Manufacturing of Historical Myths". The Carl Beck Papers in Russian and East European Studies (2107). p. 14. doi:10.5195/cbp.2011.164. While anti-German sentiments were widespread, according to captured activists, at the time of the Third Extraordinary Congress of the OUN(b), held in August 1943, its anti-German declarations were intended to mobilize support against the Soviets, and stayed mostly on the paper.
  4. Myroslav Yurkevich, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (Orhanizatsiia ukrainskykh natsionalistiv) This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 3 (1993).
  5. Snyder, Timothy (2004). The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569–1999. Yale University Press. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-300-10586-5. The OUN was an illegal, conspirational, and terrorist organization bound to destroy the status quo. The OUN counted on German help ... Germany was the only possible ally.
  6. Katchanovski, Ivan (2013). "The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, and the Nazi Genocide in Ukraine". Paper Presented at the "Collaboration in Eastern Europe During World War II and the Holocaust" Conference, Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, United States Holocaust MemorialMuseum & Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies. The OUN and the UPA can both be classified as terrorist organizations because their actions correspond to academic definitions of terrorism as the use of violence against civilians by non-state actors in order to intimidate and to achieve political goals.
  7. Delphine, Bechtel (2013). The Holocaust in Ukraine – New Sources and Perspectives – The 1941 pogroms as represented in Western Ukrainian historiography and memorial culture (PDF). United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. pp. 3, 6. Some Ukrainian immigrant circles in Canada, the United States, and Germany had been active for decades in trying to suppress the topic and reacted to any testimony about Ukrainian anti-Jewish violence with virulent diatribes against what they dismissed as 'Jewish propaganda' ... the Ukrainian Insurrectional Army (UPA), which was responsible for ethnic 'cleansing' actions against Poles and Jews in Volhynia and Galicia.
  8. Plokhy, Serhii (2015). The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine. New York: Basic Books. p. 320. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which had close to 100,000 soldiers at its height in the summer of 1944, was fighting behind the Soviet lines, disrupting Red Army communications and attacking units farther from the front ... Among the UPA's major successes was the killing of a leading Soviet commander, General Nikolai Vatutin. On 29 February 1944, UPA fighters ambushed and wounded Vatutin as he was returning from a meeting with subordinates in Rivne, the former capital of the Reichskommissariat Ukraine. He died in Kyiv in mid-April. Khrushchev, who attended Vatutin's funeral, buried his friend in the government center of Kyiv ... not all the UPA fighters shared the nationalist ideology or belonged to the OUN.
  9. Friedman, Philip; Friedman, Ada June (1980). Roads to Extinction: Essays on the Holocaust. New York: Conference on Jewish Social Studies: Jewish Publication Society of America. p. 179. ISBN 978-0-8276-0170-3 – via Internet Archive. After the outbreak of World War II, the Germans constantly favored the OUN, at the expense of more moderate Ukrainian groups. The extremist Ukrainian nationalist groups then launched a campaign of vilification against moderate leaders, accusing them of various misdeeds ... As early as the spring of 1940, a central Ukrainian committee was organized in Cracow under the chairmanship of Volodimir Kubiovitch ... Shortly before the outbreak of Russo-German hostilities, the Germans, through Colonel Erwin Stolze, of the Abwehr, conducted negotiations with both OUN leaders, Melnyk and Bandera, requesting that they engage in underground activities in the rear of the Soviet armies in the Ukraine.
  10. Piotrowski, Tadeusz (1998). Poland's Holocaust. McFarland. pp. 224, 233, 234. ISBN 978-0-7864-0371-4 – via Internet Archive. ... after the massive exodus of the Polish people created a hiatus in the flow of requisitions, the Germans decided to stop the UPA terrorist attacks against civilians ... These anti-Jewish actions were carried out by the members of the Ukrainian police who eventually joined the UPA ... By October (1944), all of Eastern Poland lay in Soviet hands. As the German army began its withdrawal, the UPA began to attack its rearguard and seize its equipment. The Germans reacted with raids on UPA positions. On July 15, 1944, the Ukrainian Supreme Liberation Council (Ukrainska Holovna Vyzvolna Rada, or UHVR, an OUN-B outfit) was formed and, at the end of that month, signed an agreement with the Germans for a unified front against the Soviet threat. This ended the UPA attacks as well as the German countermeasures. In exchange for diversionary activities in the rear of the Soviet front, Germans began providing the Ukrainian underground with supplies, arms, and training materials.
  11. Katchanovski, Ivan (2015). "Terrorists or national heroes? Politics and perceptions of the OUN and the UPA in Ukraine". Communist and Post-Communist Studies – Paper Prepared for Presentation at the Annual Conference of the Canadian Political Science Association, Montreal, June 1–3, 2010. 48 (2–3): 15. doi:10.1016/j.postcomstud.2015.06.006. ISSN 0967-067X. However, historical studies and archival documents show that the OUN relied on terrorism and collaborated with Nazi Germany in the beginning of World War II. The OUN-B (Stepan Bandera faction) by means of its control over the UPA masterminded a campaign of ethnic cleansing of Poles in Volhynia during the war and mounted an anti-Soviet terror campaign in Western Ukraine after the war. These nationalist organizations, based mostly in Western Ukraine, primarily, in Galicia, were also involved in mass murder of Jews during World War II. The 2009 Kyiv International Institute of Sociology survey shows that only minorities of the residents of Ukraine have favorable views of the OUN-B and the UPA and deny involvement of these organizations in mass murders of Ukrainians, Poles, and Jews in the 1940s.
  12. Piotrowski, Tadeusz (1998). Poland's holocaust. Internet Archive. McFarland. p. 234. ISBN 978-0-7864-0371-4. By October (1944), all of Eastern Poland lay in Soviet hands. As the German army began its withdrawal, the UPA began to attack its rearguard and seize its equipment. The Germans reacted with raids on UPA positions. On July 15, 1944, the Ukrainian Supreme Liberation Council (Ukrainska Holovna Vyzvolna Rada, or UHVR, an OUN-B outfit) was formed and, at the end of that month, signed an agreement with the Germans for a unified front against the Soviet threat. This ended the UPA attacks as well as the German countermeasures. In exchange for diversionary activities in the rear of the Soviet front, Germans began providing the Ukrainian underground with supplies, arms, and training materials
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