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Portrait of Roman Shukhevych

Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain

Born in Ukraine · Nationality Soviet — Politics / regimes / war

Roman Shukhevych

Ideologies, militancy and activismAuthoritarian regimes, wars and mass atrocities

Documented profile covering 8 controversies, including “1943–1944: supreme command of UPA and expansion of ethnic cleansing against Poles in Eastern Galicia” and “1944: internal policy of fabricating evidence and shifting responsibility for mass violence”.

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Profile No. 2585 · Updated on 12 October 2026

Portrait of Roman Shukhevych

Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
8Documented controversies+ 1 background event
3Sources
1 followed by a conviction

§ Legal statuses reflect the documented sources as of the date shown; they replace neither court decisions nor the presumption of innocence. Counts are not a rating. Methodology

I. Documented controversies

01

November 1943–1944

1943–1944: supreme command of UPA and expansion of ethnic cleansing against Poles in Eastern Galicia

No legal proceedings

After becoming supreme commander of the UPA, Shukhevych oversaw the expansion of anti-Polish operations in Eastern Galicia. The 1944 directives called for the expulsion of the Polish population and the use of violence against those who refused to leave.

State of the evidence
Documented
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    Institute of National Remembrance (Poland)We create convenient positions which cannot be attained at the negotiation tables — A piece on Roman ShukhevychOfficial documentHigh reliability
  2. [2]
    East European Politics and Societies / SAGERehearsal for Volhynia: Schutzmannschaft Battalion 201 and Hauptmann Roman Shukhevych in Occupied Belorussia, 1942Academic publicationVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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02

printemps 1944

1944: internal policy of fabricating evidence and shifting responsibility for mass violence

No legal proceedings

As Allied victory became increasingly likely, according to the IPN the OUN-B/UPA leadership introduced a policy of fabricating evidence and shifting responsibility for the ethnic cleansing of Poles onto Germans, Soviet partisans or the victims themselves; similar steps had previously concerned anti-Jewish pogroms.

State of the evidence
Documented
Attribution
Institutional responsibility

Sources · 1

  1. [1]
    Institute of National Remembrance (Poland)We create convenient positions which cannot be attained at the negotiation tables — A piece on Roman ShukhevychOfficial documentHigh reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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03

February–August 1943

1943: rise to OUN-B leadership during escalation of ethnic cleansing in Volhynia

No legal proceedings

Shukhevych entered the OUN-B's highest leadership in 1943 as the UPA launched a campaign of massacres against Poles in Volhynia. He subsequently strengthened his control over the movement and helped secure approval of “de-Polonisation” methods at the summer 1943 congress.

State of the evidence
Documented
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 1

  1. [1]
    Institute of National Remembrance (Poland)We create convenient positions which cannot be attained at the negotiation tables — A piece on Roman ShukhevychOfficial documentHigh reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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04

October 1941–fin 1942

1941–1942: officer in Schutzmannschaft Battalion 201 engaged in anti-partisan operations in occupied Belarus

No legal proceedings

Following the reorganisation of Ukrainian units linked to the Abwehr, Shukhevych served as a company commander in Schutzmannschaft Battalion 201, deployed to Belarus to protect installations and participate in anti-partisan operations.

State of the evidence
Documented
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    Institute of National Remembrance (Poland)We create convenient positions which cannot be attained at the negotiation tables — A piece on Roman ShukhevychOfficial documentHigh reliability
  2. [2]
    East European Politics and Societies / SAGERehearsal for Volhynia: Schutzmannschaft Battalion 201 and Hauptmann Roman Shukhevych in Occupied Belorussia, 1942Academic publicationVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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05

1939–printemps 1941

1939–1941: meetings with German intelligence, military training and preparation of OUN-B cadres

No legal proceedings

Based in Kraków after Poland's defeat, Shukhevych attended meetings with German intelligence representatives, provided military training to OUN members and participated in the 1941 OUN-B congress.

State of the evidence
Documented
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 1

  1. [1]
    Institute of National Remembrance (Poland)We create convenient positions which cannot be attained at the negotiation tables — A piece on Roman ShukhevychOfficial documentHigh reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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06

June–July 1941

1941: Nachtigall Battalion officer, organisation of Ukrainian militia in Lviv and pogrom controversy

No legal proceedings

Shukhevych helped form the Nachtigall Battalion under Abwehr control and establish the framework for a Ukrainian militia in Lviv. Members of nationalist organisations participated in anti-Jewish violence and arrests.

State of the evidence
Disputed

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    Institute of National Remembrance (Poland)We create convenient positions which cannot be attained at the negotiation tables — A piece on Roman ShukhevychOfficial documentHigh reliability
  2. [2]
    United States Holocaust Memorial MuseumThe Holocaust in Ukraine: New Sources and PerspectivesOfficial documentVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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07

1934–1937

1934–1937: arrest after Pieracki affair, detention at Bereza Kartuska and conviction limited to OUN membership

Conviction

Arrested after Bronisław Pieracki's assassination, Shukhevych was detained at Bereza Kartuska and subsequently tried in Lviv. In 1936, he was sentenced to four years, reduced to two under an amnesty; according to the IPN, the evidence at the time established only his OUN membership.

State of the evidence
Documented
Attribution
Accused

Sources · 1

  1. [1]
    Institute of National Remembrance (Poland)We create convenient positions which cannot be attained at the negotiation tables — A piece on Roman ShukhevychOfficial documentHigh reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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08

19 October 1926

1926: assassination of Polish education official Stanisław Sobiński

No legal proceedings

According to Poland's IPN, Roman Shukhevych and Bohdan Pidhainy assassinated education official Stanisław Sobiński in Lviv, whom Ukrainian nationalists accused of Polonising education.

State of the evidence
Documented
Attribution
Accused

Sources · 1

  1. [1]
    Institute of National Remembrance (Poland)We create convenient positions which cannot be attained at the negotiation tables — A piece on Roman ShukhevychOfficial documentHigh reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

Add to this entry

II. Documented background

Documented biographical or institutional milestones (elections, appointments, foundings, acquisitions…). These are not controversies and are not counted as such.

  1. années 1930–1934

    Early 1930s: leadership of OUN combat department and involvement in clandestine violence strategy

    Following the creation of the OUN, Shukhevych joined its military structures and became head of its combat department at a time when the organisation carried out attacks, sabotage and political assassinations.

    Sources · 1
    1. Institute of National Remembrance (Poland) — We create convenient positions which cannot be attained at the negotiation tables — A piece on Roman Shukhevych

III. Constellation of documented links

  • Linked profile (portrait or initials) — click to open it
  • Line width: number of documented references
  • Hover over or tap a line: controversies and sources

Two profiles are linked when a documented controversy of one names the other. The link points to that controversy and its sources; it does not indicate a personal relationship.

List of documented links (1)
  1. Viktor Yushchenko1 documented reference

IV. Has something changed?

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