SBU Head Wants to Model Security Service on WW2-Era Ukrainian Nationalists

"There is no need to come up with anything new for the SBU. It is important to take traditions and operating procedures used by the OUN and the UPA since 1930s until 1950s as a basis," Nalyvaichenko told the Day newspaper. Ukraine's Security Service is undergoing major reorganization.

The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) was established as the armed wing of the Ukrainian nationalists in 1942. The UPA operated mainly in western Ukraine, fighting against Soviet forces on the side of Nazi Germany. In 1943, the UPA massacred as many as 100,000 Polish civilians in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia.

After the end of World War II, the UPA continued to fight against the Soviet Union using radical means, including terrorism and violence. The UPA committed countless atrocities, targeting intellectuals and local authorities.

War veterans and politicians have sharply criticized glorification of the UPA and its leaders, Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych, accusing them of collaborating with the Nazis.

In November 2014, Russia's Supreme Court branded the Ukrainian Insurgent Army a terrorist organization, banning its activity in the country.