Current debate

What does the red-and-black flag mean, and what does the President want to change?

The red-and-black flag is both a historical symbol linked to OUN-B and UPA memory and a contemporary sign used in different political and military contexts. In Poland it has again become the subject of a legal and political dispute. The presidential initiative is a bill, not an automatically binding prohibition.

What was proposed?

On 29 September 2025 President Karol Nawrocki submitted a bill amending the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance and the Penal Code. The stated purpose includes countering false claims about crimes committed by OUN-B, UPA and other Ukrainian formations collaborating with Nazi Germany. In public statements the President also called for the red-and-black symbol of 'banderism' to be removed from Polish public space. Until a bill completes the legislative process and is promulgated, it remains a proposal rather than a general legal ban.

Where did the symbol come from?

The colour combination became associated with the revolutionary wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and later with UPA remembrance. In historical memory red is often explained as blood and black as the land, although slogans and interpretations changed over time. The symbol is not the state flag of Ukraine and should not be confused with the blue-and-yellow national flag.

Why context matters

The flag may refer to historical Ukrainian nationalism, military remembrance, contemporary resistance to Russia, football culture or deliberate provocation. These uses are not identical. A photograph proves that the symbol was present in a given place and time, but does not by itself establish the beliefs of every person nearby. Reliable description requires the event, organiser, inscription and surrounding symbols to be considered together.

How the portal describes it

The atlas records where the symbol appears and explains the documented context. It does not automatically label every display as illegal, nor does it treat every use as neutral. Entries distinguish state symbols, organisational emblems, historical reconstructions and contemporary political displays.

Sources