Ukrainian Insurgent Army

• 1. Formation And Early Operations

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  On the 14th of October 1942, the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists established a new partisan formation known as the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. This group emerged from earlier underground networks in Volhynia and Polesia to fight against multiple occupying powers. The initial goal was to create an independent Ukrainian state through a national revolution led by a dictatorship. Dmytro Klyachkivsky served as the first commander of this unified structure. He had previously been a colonel of the Ukrainian People's Republic before taking charge of the UPA staff. Vasyl Ivakhiv acted as the OUN military referent for Volhynia and Polesia during these early days. By February 1943, the organization began open warfare against German forces in Volhynia and Polesia. Simultaneously, its units engaged Polish resistance groups. A captured German document dated the 25th of November 1941 ordered the arrest and liquidation of all functionaries of the Bandera Movement. Despite this threat, the UPA grew steadily throughout 1943. In June 1943, German SS and police forces under Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski attempted to destroy UPA-North in Volhynia during Operation BB. Ukrainian claims stated that the initial stage produced no results whatsoever. Himmler sent von dem Bach-Zelewski to Ukraine after he failed to eliminate the insurgents. From July through September 1943, there were 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. By autumn 1943, clashes declined significantly enough for Erich Koch to claim nationalistic bands posed no major threat.

• 2. Volhynia Massacres And Polish Conflict

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  In March 1943, the OUN-B imposed a collective death sentence on all Poles living in the former south-eastern Kresy region of the Second Polish Republic. Local units of the UPA received instructions to complete this operation months later. Dmytro Klyachkivsky, Vasyl Ivakhov, Ivan Lytvynchuk, and Petro Oliynyk were the commanders behind the decision. Ethnic cleansing against Poles began on a large scale in Volhynia in late February or early spring of that year. It lasted until the end of 1944. On the 11th of July 1943, known as Volhynian Bloody Sunday, UPA units marched from village to village killing Polish civilians. That day they surrounded and attacked 99 Polish villages and settlements across three counties: Kovel, Horokhiv, and Volodymyr. The following day, 50 additional villages were attacked. In January 1944, the campaign spread to neighboring Galicia where Poles sometimes chose between fleeing or being killed. Villages were torched and Roman Catholic priests were axed or crucified. Churches burned with parishioners inside while isolated farms faced attacks by gangs carrying pitchforks and kitchen knives. Pregnant women were bayoneted and children cut in two. Estimates place the number of Polish civilians killed between 60,000 and 120,000. Ukrainian peasants sometimes joined the violence but others hid their Polish neighbors. After initiation of massacres, Polish self-defense units responded by attacking UPA accomplices. Specific orders were given not to target the general Ukrainian population. Between 1943 and 1947, estimates suggest 2,000 to 30,000 Ukrainians died in reprisals. On the 22nd of July 2016, the Sejm of Poland declared these massacres a genocide.

• 3. Anti-Soviet Resistance And Infiltration

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  As the Red Army approached Galicia, the UPA avoided clashes with regular Soviet military units. Instead they focused energy on NKVD units and Soviet officials from officers down to postal workers attempting to establish administration. In March 1944, UPA insurgents mortally wounded front commander Army General Nikolai Vatutin during the Second Battle of Kiev. Several weeks later an NKVD battalion was annihilated near Rivne resulting in a full-scale operation involving 30,000 Soviet troops in Volhynia. Lavrentiy Beria stated that spring 1944 clashes resulted in 2,018 killed and 1,570 captured UPA fighters while only 11 Soviets died. By autumn 1944, UPA forces enjoyed virtual freedom over 160,000 square kilometers home to over 10 million people. They established a shadow government across this vast area. Khrushchev launched large-scale assaults starting November 1944 involving at least 20 NKVD combat divisions supported by artillery and armored units. Soviet archives state that on the 9th of October 1944, one NKVD Division, eight brigades, and a cavalry regiment totaling 26,304 soldiers were stationed in Western Ukraine. By end of 1944, UPA fighter numbers declined to 20-25,000 from over 40,000 earlier in the year. During late 1944 and first half of 1945, Soviet data reported approximately 89,000 UPA killed, 91,000 captured, and 39,000 surrendered. In February 1945, the UPA issued orders to liquidate kurins and sotnyas operating predominantly in chotys. Mass arrests occurred between February 1944 and May 1946 with over 250,000 people arrested in Western Ukraine. Between 1944 and 1952 as many as 600,000 people may have been arrested with about one-third executed. Roman Shukhevych was killed during an ambush near Lviv on the 5th of March 1950. After his death the UPA rapidly lost fighting capability. Vasyl Kuk became the last commander and was captured on the 24th of May 1954. Liquidation of armed units was accomplished by beginning of 1956 according to MGB reports.

• 4. Holocaust Participation And Jewish Policy

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  The OUN-B pursued a policy of infiltrating German police to obtain weapons and training for fighters. In that role it helped Germans carry out the Holocaust. The Ukrainian Auxiliary Police played a crucial supporting role in murder of 200,000 Jews in Volhynia during second half of 1942. Most police deserted following spring and joined the UPA. Historian Shmuel Spector estimated in 1990 that UPA and OUN together hunted down and killed several thousand Jews. Publications of Ukrainian political organizations became explicitly antisemitic by 1940, 1941. German documents suggest ultranationalists were indifferent to plight of Jews killing them or helping whichever suited goals better. By early 1943, OUN-B entered open armed conflict with Nazi Germany. Roman Shukhevych issued an order banning participation in anti-Jewish activities upon assuming command in August 1943 though no written record exists. In 1944, OUN-B formally rejected racial and ethnic exclusivity. Nevertheless Jews hiding from Germans with Poles in Polish villages were often killed along with their saviors. Some Jews who fled ghettos for forests were killed by UPA members. Soviet propaganda complained about Zionist membership in UPA during persecution of Jews in early 1950s describing alleged connection between Jewish nationalists. One well-known claimed example involving Stella Krenzbach was likely a hoax according to sources such as Friedman. Bohdan Kordiuk described Krenzbach's memoirs as false stating none knew her or had heard of her.

• 5. Military Structure And Tactics

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  The UPA adopted a decentralized structure divided into three operational regions each following somewhat different agendas due to constantly moving front lines. The Western Operational Group operated in western Ukraine while Southern Operational Group covered central-southern Podolia and parts of Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Odesa oblasts. Northern Operational Group functioned in northern Volhynia, Rivne Oblast, and parts of Kyiv and Zhytomyr oblasts. An Eastern Operational Group including Kyiv and Zhytomyr oblasts was planned but never created. In November 1943, the UPA adopted new structure creating Main Military Headquarters and General Staff. Roman Shukhevych headed HQ while Dmytro Hrytsai became chief of staff. Departments included operations intelligence logistics personnel training political education and military inspectors. Largest unit type kurin consisted of 500, 700 soldiers equivalent to battalion. Smallest unit rii literally bee swarm contained eight to ten soldiers equivalent to squad. Occasionally three or more kurins united forming zahin or brigade during some operations particularly in Volyn. Organizational methods borrowed from German Polish and Soviet military while training based on modified Red Army field manual. Sixty percent were peasants of low to moderate means with 20 to 25 percent from working class primarily rural lumber and food industries. Fifteen percent were members of intelligentsia providing large portion of trainers and officer corps. Number of fighters varied from estimated 20,000 by German Abwehr report in November 1943 up to 200,000 by summer 1944. Dual rank system included functional command position designations alongside traditional military ranks developed due to acute shortage of qualified officers. Armaments initially collected from battlefields of 1939 and 1941 later bought from peasants or captured in combat. Light infantry weapons of Soviet origin formed main arsenal though some light Hungarian tanks used in Volhynia in 1943.

• 6. Post-War Legacy And Recognition

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  Since Ukraine's independence in 1991 heated debates emerged about awarding official recognition to former UPA members as legitimate combatants. Veterans sought parades and commemorations especially in Western Ukraine leading to opposition from Soviet Army veterans and politicians from south and east. Individual former UPA members expressed readiness for mutual apology meeting Polish veterans asking forgiveness for past misdeeds. In late March 2019 former members received veteran status granting free public transport subsidized medical services annual monetary aid and utility discounts. Prior to December 2018 legally only those participating against Nazi invaders without committing crimes against humanity were recognized. Council recognized all OUN-UPA soldiers as combatants. Regional authorities approached history independently erecting monuments memorials plaques in western cities and villages. Kharkiv saw memorial erected in 1992 while southern provinces opened memorials dedicated to victims like The Shot in the Back unveiled Simferopol Crimea September 2007. Further monuments appeared Svatove Luhansk oblast May 2010 attended by Vice Prime Minister Viktor Tikhonov. Since 2006 Security Service of Ukraine actively declassified documents relating to operations of Soviet security services. January 2008 President Viktor Yushchenko submitted draft law recognizing fighters from 1920 to 1990 including UVO Karpatska Sich OUN UPA Ukrainian Main Liberation Army. September 2009 schoolchildren took more extensive course on Holodomor and OUN/UPA history. October 2014 date the 14th of October confirmed Defenders of Ukraine Day officially granting state sanction to anniversary raising Insurgent Army. June 2017 Kyiv City Council renamed General Vatutin Avenue Roman Shukhevych Avenue. December 2018 Poroshenko confirmed veteran status for independence fighters. March 2021 Ternopil largest stadium named after Roman Shukhevych followed Lviv Oblast Council approval renaming their largest stadium similarly.