Debunking Russian fakes. No, Zelenskyy didn’t sign decree to build memorial honoring Ukrainian nationalist partisans

Pro-Russian Telegram channels shared the video with the logo of French media outlet France 24 falsely claiming that Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, had signed a decree to build an EU-funded memorial honoring UPA heroes, Ukrainian Insurgent Army, nationalist armed group active during and after World War II.

What happened?

On Jul. 9, pro-Russian Telegram channels, including VOBLA • News, Ostashko! Important, Voice of Mordor, Bear, Actually in Kharkiv, Actually in Kyiv, New Melitopol, Z 105th Regiment of the DPR People’s Militia: Frontline Reports and More, and SVO Reports, posted an information that Volodymyr Zelenskyy had signed a decree to build a memorial honoring UPA heroes near Lutsk, allegedly at the site of the 1943 massacres of Poles.

The posts claim that the EU will supposedly allocate $80 million under the Ukraine Facility program to fund the construction of the memorial and the work will begin on the day Poland commemorates the victims of the Volyn tragedy. As proof, they spread a video with the France 24 television channel’s logo.

In addition, Russian online platforms and media spread the news  (1, 2, 3), along with ZOV Melitopol, ZOV Zaporizhzhia, and Russian Facebook accounts (1, 2, 3, 4). Vladimir Solovyov, Russian journalist who works for state-owned media-outlets, also mentioned the announced construction of the memorial during the Jul. 9 episode of his program “An Evening with Vladimir Solovyov.”

Ukrainian Insurgent Army

Historically, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) was a nationalist armed group active during and after World War II. Its role in the Volyn tragedy remains one of the most contentious topic in Ukrainian-Polish relations, with Poland recognizing the killings of Polish civilians in 1943–1944 as genocide. In Ukraine the UPA is widely commemorated for its fight for independence, despite ongoing historical debate over its actions during the war.

The fake appeared ahead of Poland’s Jul. 11 Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Volyn tragedy.

Analysis

The video’s only evidence for the alleged construction is a screenshot of what it claims is Presidential Decree No. 579/2026, dated Jul. 3, titled On the Construction of a Memorial to the Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. The video’s creators present it as a document published on the Ukrainian president’s official website.

A review of the Ukrainian president’s official website showed that the video’s creators had fabricated the document’s contents. In fact, Presidential Decree No. 579/2026, dated Jul. 3, confers the special rank of police colonel on Andriy Rubel and makes no mention of any memorial.

We also looked for evidence that such a memorial project exists. The official websites of the Ukrainian president, the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, and the Volyn Regional Military Administration contain no decrees, decisions, announcements, or any other information about plans to build a memorial honoring UPA heroes in the Volyn region.

Then we checked the official resources of France 24’s English language version, since the widely spread video features the channel’s logo, English subtitles and dubbing.  There is no mention of either the alleged construction of a memorial or the video itself on the France 24’s website.

We also found that the video was compiled entirely from publicly available videos and photographs, including footage of public appearances by Ukrainian and Polish officials (1, 2, 3).

So, Zelenskyy never signed such a decree, nor is any memorial honoring UPA heroes planned in the Volyn region. Pro-Russian sources once again created a fake video, using open-source materials, to undermine Ukraine’s relationship with its partners.  

Author: Anna Ormanzhy
Translator: Mariia Kritsak

Conclusion: Fake

Read more:

• Debunking Russian fakes. No, wife of Ukraine’s Defense Minister did not become co-owner of luxury yacht

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