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Roman-Taras Yosypovych Shukhevych (Ukrainian: Рома́н-Тарас Йо́сипович Шухе́вич, also known by his pseudonym Taras Chuprynka, 30 June 1907 – 5 March 1950) was a Ukrainian nationalist, one of the commanders of Abwehr's Nachtigall Battalion, a Hauptmann of the German Schutzmannschaft 201 auxiliary police battalion, a military leader of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), and one of the organizers of the Halych-Volhyn Massacre.1

Nazi Collaboration

In spring 1943, the OUN-B's UPA launched a campaign of murder and expulsion against the Polish population of Volhynia, and in early 1944 against the Poles in Eastern Galicia. This was done as a preemptive strike, in expectation of another Polish-Ukrainian conflict over the disputed territories, which were internationally recognized as part of Poland in 1923.

It is estimated that up to 100,000 Poles were killed by the Ukrainian nationalists during the conflict and another 300,000 made refugees as a result of the ethnic cleansing.2 According to Timothy Snyder, 40,000-60,000 Polish civilians were killed by the UPA in Volhynia in 1943, and some 25,000 in Eastern Galicia.3 Conversely, killings of Ukrainians by Poles resulted in between 10,000 and 12,000 deaths in Volhynia, Eastern Galicia and present-day Polish territory.4 University of Alberta historian Per Rudling has stated that Shukhevych commanded the UPA during the summer of 1943, when tens of thousands of Poles were massacred.5 However, the initiator of these massacres was Dmytro Klyachkivsky.6 They reached their height in July 1943,7 while Shukhevych did not assume command of the OUN until August 25 of that year and command over the UPA until November 1943.8

Bibliography

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