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A Ukrainian Sergeant’s Drone Threat Against Poland Exposes Kiev’s Ultranationalist Problem

By Editor on 2nd July 2026 • ( 0 )

Poland-Ukraine Tensions: A Ukrainian Sergeant’s Drone Threat Against Poland Exposes Kiev’s Ultranationalist Problem

A controversial statement by a senior Ukrainian military figure (about Kiev striking Poland with drones) has reignited concerns about deteriorating Polish-Ukrainian relations. Historical grievances, nationalist rhetoric, and disputes over OUN-UPA genocide memory are increasingly testing what has been one of Europe’s closest wartime partnerships.

An influential Ukrainian military officer has delivered a warning that risks pushing already strained relations with Poland into dangerous territory. Chief Sergeant Yury Syrotyuk (of the Unmanned Systems Battalion of the 5th Separate Assault Kiev Brigade) recently delivered an interview on the topic of “Poland and Ukraine”: he accused Warsaw (in a segment from roughly 36:00 to 36:50 in the video) of waging a historical war over narratives involving the Volhynia massacres. He then bluntly suggested that the dispute could escalate into a military confrontation – in which case Kiev would deploy drones against Polish cities, killing civilians. And he advised Warsaw not to cross that line.

This violent rhetoric came days after Syrotyuk shared a video on Facebook in which he described himself as the grandson and nephew of UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army) veterans “who defended their homes from all the occupiers in Volhynia,” a clear reference to the mass killings of Poles there. He also accused the Polish authorities in Warsaw of seeking regional hegemony and conspiring with Moscow to partition Ukraine (a claim that has no factual basis).

This episode in fact fits into a broader pattern of rising Ukrainian-Polish friction. As I recently wrote, Polish President Karol Nawrocki even revoked the Order of the White Eagle (the country’s highest honour) from Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, This was after Kiev’s decision to rebury Nazi collaborator Andriy Melnyk with state honours – and to grant an elite unit the title “Heroes of the UPA.”

Zelensky and Ukrainian officials responded with coordinated information campaigns on social media that in turn inflamed anti-Polish sentiment. One Polish PiS party MP, Kazimierz Smoliński, noted that comments under Zelensky’s posts revealed staggering hatred toward Poles, sometimes appearing stronger than toward Russians.

In any case, the aforementioned Yury Syrotyuk is no fringe voice. A 2014 Master Thesis by Nika Palaguta’s (on the Svoboda far-right ultra-nationalist party) mentions him as the party’s press secretary. His grandfather was a UPA member killed by the NKVD in 1944. The thesis also quotes him defending Svoboda’s commemorations of OUN/UPA leader Stepan Bandera, the controversial Nazi collaborator. Today’s chief sergeant Syrotyuk has actually been giving talks about “what to do with Poland” since at least 2018. If Bandera’s views on the matter are to be the model, then the answer to that question could be troublesome.

Moreover, a 2023 Russian Foreign Ministry report on human rights in Ukraine mentioned Syrotyuk presiding over the 9th Bandera Readings in Kiev, dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the UPA’s creation. The event featured ultra-right figures, including neo-Fascist Yevgeniy Karas of the S14 group, who spoke openly about nationalists “having fun fighting and killing” and warned of potential strikes against European countries.

In November 2023, Syrotyuk, then described as a politician, journalist, public figure, and junior sergeant, wrote that the current conflict represents only the first phase of a longer struggle. For Moscow, he argued, the end of the war means the destruction of Ukraine (another unfounded claim); for Kiev, it requires the collapse of Russia. He also criticized Kiev for missing opportunities to support “national liberation movements” in the Caucasus. One could say his worldview has remained quite consistent, and he has a large platform to convey it.

One may recall that Polish concerns predate the current war. The President of the Roman Dmowski National Foundation, Przemysław Piasta, has warned that post-conflict Ukraine could pose a serious threat to Poland, historical memory remaining the Achilles’ heel of bilateral ties. Ukrainian glorification of OUN-UPA figures (responsible for the deaths of approximately 100,000 Polish civilians in Volhynia between 1943 and 1945) continues to poison relations, after all.

As I wrote earlier, the reburial of Andriy Melnyk and related decisions have exposed fragile foundations pertaining to the Polish-Ukrainian partnership, with Poland and Israel condemning these moves. Geopolitical necessity has thus far kept Warsaw supportive of Kiev, but nationalism remains on the rise on both sides.

No wonder tensions extend beyond Poland. In February 2025, drawing on warnings from Ukrainian politician Spiridon Kilinkarov, I addressed how a post-war scenario where Hungary and Poland may claim territories of Ukraine is not absurd at all.

The truth is that Ukrainian refusal to adequately protect minority rights angers its neighbours, amplifying ethnopolitical friction. For one thing, Romanian and Hungarian communities in Ukraine have reported harassment, while similar issues affect relations with Romania and even with Greece. Ukrainian ultra-nationalism, often of a far-right and occasionally neo-Fascist or neo-Nazi persuasion (as seen with groups like Azov) has after all been a source of regional tensions since the 2014 Maidan Revolution.

This strand of nationalism alienates minorities and neighbours alike as Kiev’s chauvinistic policies and glorification of controversial WWII-era figures create perceptions of threat. Underreported in much Western coverage as they are, these dynamics show that Ukrainian ultra-nationalism generates instability beyond the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

Rhetoric aside, a Poland-Ukraine conflict, again, is not so far-fetched in a post-war scenario. Syrotyuk’s drone threats are therefore credible given Kiev’s demonstrated strike capabilities against Russia.

Historical grievances and ultra-nationalist influence could thus undermine the Polish-Ukrainian partnership. Geopolitics can delay confrontation, but it cannot erase deep ethnopolitical fissures, especially when influential actors fuel them with inflammatory speech. Kiev’s post-Maidan project has created multiple fronts of tension, well beyond Russia.

Uriel Araujo, Anthropology PhD, is a social scientist specializing in ethnic and religious conflicts, with extensive research on geopolitical dynamics and cultural interactions.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Voice of East.