A proposal by 21 Polish opposition MPs to organize an official Independence Day march in Lviv on November 11, 2026, has triggered sharp political division in Poland and strong condemnation in Ukraine. The initiative, submitted as a parliamentary question, demands reciprocity for Ukrainian celebrations in Warsaw but faces accusations of political provocation.
A group of 21 right-wing and far-right Polish lawmakers jointly called on the government to organize state celebrations and a formal procession through the streets of Lviv. The proposal, submitted to the Sejm as a parliamentary interpellation, argues that the Polish state fails to provide adequate support to the ethnic Polish minority in Lviv. The initiators contrast this with Polish state funding for Ukrainian organizations and events in Poland, specifically pointing to celebrations marking Ukrainian Independence Day on August 24.
The parliamentary question, tabled on August 28, asks Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government whether it is prepared to approach Ukrainian and Lviv municipal authorities, secure financial and organizational backing, and ensure senior Polish officials attend the event. Lviv, historically known in Polish as Lwów, was part of Poland between the First and Second World Wars before postwar border realignments placed it inside Ukraine.
Broad Right-Wing Coalition Backs the Sejm Proposal
The initiative crossed factional lines within Poland’s nationalist opposition, uniting figures from several distinct parties. Out of the 21 signatories, 14 belong to the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, which governed Poland from 2015 to 2023. Other backers include three representatives from Confederation, one from Development Plus, one from the radical-right Confederation of the Polish Crown (KKP), alongside independent lawmakers.
The document was authored by Dariusz Matecki, a conservative lawmaker associated with Law and Justice. Other high-profile signatories include party leader Jarosław Kaczyński and former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, alongside figures linked to radical factions such as Grzegorz Braun, who leads the pro-Russian Confederation of the Polish Crown.
Despite the high-level parliamentary signatures, leadership backing across the broader opposition remains murky. Krzysztof Bosak, a leader of Confederation, admitted in a radio interview that he first learned of the proposal from media reports, dismissing the idea as an unnecessary political stunt.
Bosak added that the appeal should be directed at Ukrainian institutions rather than the Polish foreign ministry, noting that many citizens would fail to grasp the intended geopolitical point. He remarked that he had more pressing matters to attend to.
Accusations of Provocation and Sharp Domestic Backlash
The proposal immediately ignited severe criticism from Poland’s ruling coalition and security analysts. Marek Bernacki, a lawmaker with the Polish Peasants’ Party, condemned the initiative as “madness” and political nonsense
that threatens fragile diplomatic ties between Warsaw and Kyiv.
Critics point out that Lviv remains a major urban center in a country actively at war, facing regular Russian missile and drone assaults. The parliamentary question itself contains no detailed security provisions for moving thousands of marchers through an active war zone.
In Ukraine, the reaction was swift and uncompromising. The public organization Memory and Justice – Association of Descendants of Ukrainian Victims of Polish Repression
issued a formal statement denouncing the plan.
“The initiative of 21 members of the Polish Sejm to hold Poland’s Independence March through the streets of Lviv on November 11 is a political provocation that has nothing to do with good-neighborly relations. We call on the government of the Republic of Poland to reject this irresponsible initiative and not turn Ukrainian Lviv into an arena for Poland’s domestic politics and historical provocations.”
Memory and Justice – Association of Descendants of Ukrainian Victims of Polish Repression
While objecting strongly to the march, the association emphasized that the local Polish diaspora maintains a legitimate right to preserve its cultural traditions and historical memory.
A Backdrop of Ongoing Historical Friction
The Lviv march proposal emerges during a period of renewed tension between Warsaw and Kyiv over historical memory. In June, bilateral relations strained further when Polish President Karol Nawrocki announced a decision to strip Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle. The move followed a decree in Ukraine naming a military unit after members of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), which Poland holds responsible for World War II-era massacres of Polish citizens.
Despite the diplomatic friction over the award, leadership on both sides has attempted to maintain dialogue. During a July NATO summit meeting lasting over an hour, Zelenskyy and Nawrocki discussed mutual security threats, with the Ukrainian leader describing Russia as a shared threat. Nawrocki echoed the need for continued cooperation despite historical disagreements.
As the debate continues, the Polish government has made no move to adopt the opposition’s proposal. By comparison, Poland’s established Independence Day march in Warsaw draws massive crowds annually, with municipal estimates placing turnout around 100,000 participants in 2025. Whether a parallel event in Lviv advances beyond a parliamentary filing depends entirely on executive approval in Warsaw and explicit consent from Ukrainian authorities.
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