Poland outraged by “scandalous auction” on Ukrainian website selling Polish officer’s order
Poland reacted to the “scandalous auction” on a Ukrainian website selling a Polish officer’s order: the award turned out to be a fake. An advertisement for the sale of the Polish Virtuti Militari order appeared on one of the Ukrainian websites, the number of which coincided with the number of the award that belonged to officer Juliusz Roman Heinzel, who was killed by NKVD officers in the spring of 1940. This is reported by RMF24.
The day before, the Institute of National Remembrance announced that the original Virtuti Militari Order was put up for sale on the Ukrainian website, the number of which corresponded to the award number of Captain Juliusz Roman Heinzel, who was captured by the Soviet troops at the beginning of World War II.
In the spring of 1940, he was taken to Kharkiv, where he was killed in the basement of the NKVD prison, and later buried near the village Pyatikhatki.
Later, the Institute of National Remembrance contacted the officer’s family, and they reported that they had his order stored with them. This means that a fake was probably posted on the Ukrainian website.
“Yes, the offered copy may be a duplicate or a fake, which is an attempt at fraud. The memory of the victims cannot be traded, even if it is a copy or a fake,” said the Institute’s spokesman, Rafal Koscianski.
He also noted that the spokesman for the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other competent authorities of the country had been informed about this case. Later, Foreign Ministry spokesman Maciej Wevir wrote that the Institute’s post about the “scandalous auction on the Ukrainian website” and the “proposal to sell the order” had already gained over 60 thousand views and “became fuel for some political circles.”
The head of the Polish Embassy in Kyiv, Piotr Lukasiewicz, also reacted to the situation. He assured that the diplomatic establishment has already taken measures together with the Ukrainian authorities to “ensure the safety of the award.”
“At the same time, given the delicate nature of the issue, I ask you to verify the information and disseminate only official statements. In a war situation and propaganda confrontation, any publications or appeals that define the case can fuel the propaganda of our opponents,” ‒ he said.
