You're reading: Top Lviv official wants Bandera, Shukhevych celebrated on Ukraine Independence Day

Lviv Regional Council chairman Oleh Pankevych has called on all residents of Lviv region to mark the 20th anniversary of Ukraine's independence under slogans proclaiming Ukrainian Insurgent Army commander-in-chief Roman Shukhevych and Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists leader Stepan Bandera as heroes of Ukraine.

"Let us all come to the monument to Hero of Ukraine Stepan Bandera in Lviv and other cities of the Lviv region on this day, August 24. Let’s celebrate this anniversary together with veterans of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army because this holiday belongs to them more than to anyone else. Let’s show that the courts’ ordered decisions mean nothing to us," Pankevych said.

He dismissed court resolutions stripping Shukhevych and Bandera off the Hero of Ukraine title, awarded to them by former President Viktor Yuschenko posthumously, as "absolutely politically motivated."

"The decision to strip them of the Hero of Ukraine title only for formal reasons, because they were not citizens of Ukraine, demonstrates that those who ordered this case failed to find any strong arguments against Bandera and Shukhevych," he said.

Pankevych said he was convinced that the court ruling did not belittle the heroes’ feat, but this ruling "only served to kill trust toward courts and the authorities in general."

"We should counter this Ukraine-phobic pressure on our consciousness by truly celebrating our heroes all over the country," he said.

"The 20th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence is a good opportunity to demonstrate our feelings and convictions," Pankevych said.