The Polish authorities have accused Russian intelligence of orchestrating the desecration of World War II memorials after charging an 18-year-old Ukrainian with vandalizing monuments commemorating Poles massacred by Ukrainian nationalists.

Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) said on Tuesday that the suspect, identified as Illia K., was charged with defacing several memorial sites dedicated to victims of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), the armed wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). Polish historians estimate that UPA fighters killed at least 100,000 ethnic Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, territories now largely in western Ukraine.

Investigators said Illia K. committed 47 offenses between November 2024 and August 2025. He received cryptocurrency payments through exchanges registered in Russia and China and acted on behalf of Russian intelligence in an attempt to inflame tensions between Poland and Ukraine, the ABW claimed.

The Polish National Prosecutor’s Office said on Thursday that the suspect faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The case came as another incident involving the commemoration of Volhynia massacre victims unfolded this week. On Thursday, Warsaw police arrested a 23-year-old Ukrainian national for allegedly inciting violence against participants in a march honoring the victims of the massacres, the Polish Press Agency (PAP) reported. He was later handed over to the Border Guard for deportation.

The Volhynia massacre is recognized as genocide in Poland, and remains an open wound in relations between Warsaw and Kiev. The OUN and UPA are officially honored as national heroes in Ukraine.

The dispute intensified in May when Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky awarded a commando unit the honorary title ‘Heroes of the UPA.’ Warsaw, one of Kiev’s staunchest supporters in its conflict with Russia, condemned the move. Last month, Polish President Karol Nawrocki revoked Zelensky’s Order of the White Eagle, the country’s highest state honor, saying the decision had crossed a line for most Poles.