The presidential candidate of Poland from the right-wing party "Confederation," Sławomir Mentzen, recorded a video during his trip to Lviv near the monument to Stepan Bandera, in which he referred to him as a "terrorist." He published the corresponding video on his social media page X.

In the video, he, along with the Member of the European Parliament from "Confederation," Anna Brylka, stated that Bandera is "a terrorist who was sentenced to death by a Polish court for the murder of Poles during the Second Polish Republic."

Mentzen further added that Bandera also founded the OUN (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists - UNIAN), which "bears responsibility" for the Volhynian tragedy, claiming that Bandera's people allegedly "killed 100,000 Poles."

At the same time, Brylka stated that the Bandera monument in Ukraine is akin to building monuments to Hitler in Germany.

"Ukraine must swiftly end the cult of Stepan Bandera," Mentzen added.

The mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi, commented on the video. He described Mentzen as a "pro-Russian politician with a Polish passport" and suggested that he record a similar video at the stele at the entrance to the Donetsk region.

"Pro-Russian politician with a Polish passport Sławomir Mentzen should show courage and record a video near the Donetsk stele. He could go to the front and share his thoughts, particularly with Polish volunteers. We need to check if he is even allowed to enter Ukraine," Sadovyi noted on social media X.

In turn, Mentzen responded to the mayor's comments, stating that Lviv is a "Polish city," and that he would prohibit Sadovyi from entering Poland if he becomes president.

"I am Polish and went to the beautiful and cultural Polish city of Lviv, which has suffered greatly at the hands of the Russians. There, I saw the monument to Bandera and the cult of Bandera's criminals led by Shukhevych. It should be a shame for him that in such a wonderful city he agrees with the cult of genocides, criminals, and murderers of my compatriots. He should be banned from entering Poland. Please believe me, if I win, I will urgently take care of this," the politician added.

What is known about Stepan Bandera

According to open sources, Stepan Bandera was a Ukrainian revolutionary, one of the radical and leading ideologists, practitioners, and theorists of the Ukrainian nationalist movement of the 20th century. After the split of the OUN, he became the head of the OUN-B leadership.

It is also known that Bandera and Yaroslav Stetsko were the authors of the Act of Restoration of the Ukrainian State on June 30, 1941. Due to its proclamation, the German authorities arrested Bandera, after which he was imprisoned for three years in German camps and prisons.

As Soviet troops approached in 1944, Bandera once again became the head of the OUN and led it until his last days. He was killed on October 15, 1959, by KGB agent Bohdan Stashynskyi.

The Volhynian tragedy refers to mutual ethnic cleansing between Polish and Ukrainian populations during World War II, which occurred in Volhynia. It involved the UPA, which was subordinate to the OUN (b), military branches of the OUN (m), spontaneous formations, as well as the Polish Home Army. The Hlopsky battalions included Polish battalions of the Schutzmannschaft, Soviet partisans, and Ukrainian and Polish civilians.

According to American historian Timothy Snyder, by the end of 1942, the main force in Volhynia became the OUN (b), which began to name its units UPA. When the Germans arrested Bandera and eliminated about four-fifths of the leadership, the OUN (b) was predominantly led by inexperienced youth who ultimately carried out the ethnic cleansing of Poles.

In turn, Ukraine has acknowledged that Ukrainian nationalists systematically killed Poles in Volhynia from 1943 to 1945, but Polish units of the Home Army and peasant battalions also conducted mass killings of Ukrainians. In total, approximately 30,000 Polish and about 10,000 Ukrainian citizens lost their lives in this confrontation.

Other controversial statements by politicians

Earlier, the presidential candidate of Romania, Kelin Georgescu, stated that "the corrupt" Ukraine was established at the behest of great powers. He claimed that the Ukrainian authorities sent "several million" Ukrainians into an unjust struggle (referring to the war between the Russian Federation and Ukraine).

At the same time, Prime Minister Viktor Orban previously made a scandalous statement about "what will remain" of Ukraine. He noted that Ukraine would become a buffer zone and would not become a NATO member.