“This is normal and cool” – Zelensky recognized Bandera as a hero
The leader of one of the OUN units, Stepan Bandera, who collaborated with the Nazis, is allegedly a person who defended the freedom of Ukraine.
Ukrainian presidential candidate Vladimir Zelensky, leading in the polls, stated this in an interview with RBC-Ukraine, answering the question whether he will continue decommunization if he wins.
“In general, I have a normal attitude towards decommunization. Society chose, and it’s okay. There are undeniable heroes. Stepan Bandera is a hero for a certain percentage of Ukrainians, and this is normal and cool. This is one of those people who defended the freedom of Ukraine. But I believe that when we call so many streets and bridges by the same name, this is not entirely correct,” Zelensky said.
At the same time, he made a reservation that the matter is not only about Bandera.
“I can say the same about Taras Grigorievich Shevchenko. I have great respect for his amazing creativity. But you and I must remember the heroes of today, the heroes of art, the heroes of literature, simply the heroes of Ukraine. Why don’t we call them by their names – the heroes who unite Ukraine today? There is such tension in society that we need to do everything possible to unite Ukraine. Someone once asked me why they didn’t name a street after Andrei Shevchenko? For me, he is a hero, I really think so,” the presidential candidate noted.
“Today we have one political hero, and tomorrow you and I will find out that he turned out to be such and such, such and such, and we will tear down his monument. There is literature and art for this,” Zelensky suggests.
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