Vasyl Sydor; born in Spasiv (Спасів), 24 February 1910; died 14 April 1949 in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast is an oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. As is the case with most other oblasts of Ukraine this region has the same name as its administrative center – which was renamed by the Soviets after the Ukrainian writer, nationalist...

 – colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), political activist, soldier of the Nachtigall Battalion

Nachtigall Battalion

The Nachtigall Battalion , officially known as Special Group Nachtigall, was the subunit under command of the Abwehr special operation unit Lehrregiment "Brandenburg" z.b.V. 800...

, commandant of Sotnia

Sotnia

Sotnia was a traditional division of the Cossack regiments. For example from earliest records of the Zaporizhian Sich, and means 'a hundred'. It is equivalent to company ....

 201 Schutzmannschaft

Schutzmannschaft

Schutzmannschaft or Hilfspolizei were the collaborationist auxiliary police battalions of native policemen in occupied countries in East, which were created to fight the resistance during World War II mostly in the Eastern European countries occupied by Nazi Germany. Hilfspolizei refers also to...

 auxiliary police

Auxiliary police

Auxiliary police or special constables in England) are usually the part-time reserves of a regular police force. They may be armed or unarmed. They may be unpaid volunteers or paid members of the police service with which they are affiliated...

, vice-commander of UPA and leader of UPA-West for Eastern Galicia during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Sydor was killed in combat with Soviet troops in the Limnytsia River Valley.

Political significance

On September 1, 1944, Vasyl Sydor (Shelest) as the UPA commander for Eastern Galicia, issued an order to end "mass anti-Polish actions"

Massacres of Poles in Volhynia

The Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia were part of an ethnic cleansing operation carried out by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army West in the Nazi occupied regions of the Eastern Galicia , and UPA North in Volhynia , beginning in March 1943 and lasting until the end of...

 within the borders of postwar Poland, thereby focusing on resistance rather than ethnic cleansing. Murders of civilians continued, but only in retaliation. From then on, UPA units began concentrating on attacking those who served with the pro-Soviet forces (although it took several months for the orders to reach individual commanders in the field). In 1945 the AK

Armia Krajowa

The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...

 issued a manifesto calling for an end to fighting between Poles and Ukrainians and for cooperation, printed it in 7,500 copies and distributed it in the surrounding villages. At the same time, the leadership of UPA in the region made similar moves aimed at the same goal. After mediation by Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 and Orthodox clergy, a meeting was arranged in Puszcza Solska (Solska Forest) between the commanders of both groups. The top commander on the Polish side was Marian Gołębiewski (Ster) and on the Ukrainian side Jurij Lopatynsky (Szejk). On the night of 27 May 1946 AK-WiN

Armia Krajowa

The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...

 and UPA

Upa

Upa or UPA may refer to:As the word Upa*Upa, central character in the video game Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa *Bridge in Brazilian jiu jitsu, a move designed to dislodge a mounted opponent...

 conducted their joint operation against the communist forces of UB

Ministry of Public Security of Poland

The Ministry of Public Security of Poland was a Polish communist secret police, intelligence and counter-espionage service operating from 1945 to 1954 under Jakub Berman of the Politburo...

 and NKVD

NKVD

The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....

 in Hrubieszów

Hrubieszów

Hrubieszów is a town in southeastern Poland, with a population of 18,661 . It is the capital of Hrubieszów County. Since 1999 Hrubieszów has been part of Lublin Voivodeship . Earlier, 1975–98, it had been part of Zamość Province...

. They parted their ways the next morning after a successful attack.