Famed nationalist no longer a hero of Ukraine

Ukraine has scrapped the hero status newly conferred on a wartime nationalist leader, a move likely to fuel tension between the pro-Russian east and the nationalist west of the country.

Shortly before leaving office a year ago, ex-president Viktor Yushchenko declared Stepan Bandera a "Hero of Ukraine".

Mr Bandera was the ideological leader of nationalists fighting for independence in western Ukraine in the turbulence leading up to the outbreak of the Second World War and beyond.

Mr Bandera - assassinated by the KGB in 1959 - has near-saint status among many people in that part of the country.

But the sentiment is not shared by the Russian-speaking east of Ukraine, which holds views of Soviet history closer to those of Moscow - it considers Mr Bandera a fascist.

The Simon Wiesenthal Centre had also expressed outrage at the award, saying Mr Bandera was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Jews.

Yesterday the office of President Viktor Yanukovich said the honour "has been found invalid".