MOSCOW, January 18 – Novosti. In Ukraine, the former centurion of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army * (UPA *) Miroslav Simchich, who was awarded by the Kiev regime, died, the head of the Ivano-Frankivsk regional military administration Svetlana Onishchuk said on Wednesday.
In October, Onischuk announced that Simchich had been awarded the title of “Hero of Ukraine”.
“Today, the centurion of the UPA*, <…> our countryman Miroslav Simchich, passed away into eternity,” she wrote on her Telegram channel.
A detachment of the UPA* centurion Simchich attacked the village of Troitsa in October 1944, more than 80 inhabitants were killed, including children, women, and the elderly. Simchich was convicted of killing civilians and other war crimes. Nevertheless, he was awarded the Order of Freedom and Order of Merit by the Government of Ukraine.
The UPA* is the military wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists* (OUN*), whose goal was proclaimed to be the struggle for the independence of Ukraine. The UPA* was formed in October 1942. It operated mainly in Western Ukraine and fought against the Soviet troops, collaborating with the Nazis. In May 2015, the then President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, gave the OUN-UPA * the status of “fighters for the independence” of Ukraine, and its participants the right to social guarantees.
* Extremist organizations banned in Russia.