"President Yushchenko’s decree says that Bandera was awarded ‘for his unshakeable spirit, for defending the national ideology, for his manifestations of heroism and selflessness in the fight for independence of the Ukrainian state.’ Obviously, President Yushchenko is thus attributing "to the manifestations of heroism and selflessness" the killings of Jews and Poles, in which Bandera and his comrades-in-arms were massively involved," the FJCR said in a statement released on Jan. 25.
Surprisingly, the historical fact that Bandera cooperated with fascists during the Great Patriotic War and participated in forming the SS battalions "is not at all embarrassing for Mr. Yushchenko," the statement said.
"Such political gestures defy the whole civilized world, including those who fought against Nazism, including also those Ukrainians who fought against fascists during the Great Patriotic War," the FJCR said.
Leader of Ukrainian nationalists Stepan Bandera, killed in the late 1950s, was last week awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine.
Bandera was killed by KGB agent Bohdan Stashynsky in Munich on Oct. 15, 1959.
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