Since the Euromaidan Revolution, Ukraine has steadily won the hearts and minds of Western societies. That became even more evident in 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion.As the unmistakable victim of aggression, resisting heroically while millions of people fled their homes, Ukraine inspired both sympathy and admiration. Ukrainians proved they are the modern, European society with clear democratic and Western aspirations. This image was reinforced by an exceptionally effective communication strategy.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.Yet with each passing year of the war, that image has gradually weakened. There are many reasons for this: public fatigue with a protracted conflict, the relentless work of Russian propaganda, and mistakes made by Ukrainian politicians themselves.A historical front with PolandFor several weeks, Ukraine and Poland have been embroiled in a dispute over history – more specifically, over the legacy of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). A long-defused but never fully dismantled political bomb exploded when President Volodymyr Zelensky named a military unit after UPA heroes, an organization associated in Poland with the massacre of Polish civilians during World War II.Following the escalation, both governments gradually sought to calm tensions in a dispute neither side truly wanted. In mid-July, after internal consultations, Zelensky announced measures intended to ease the crisis, including opening Ukrainian security service archives related to World War II and accelerating permits for Polish institutions to conduct search and exhumation work in Ukraine.