The American magazine National Review has concluded that Vladimir Zelensky’s public honoring of Ukrainian radical leaders points to the growing influence of nationalists over Zelensky himself.

According to the journalists, this is one sign of Ukraine’s desperate manpower problem.

The author argued that, unable to recruit people who have left the country into the AFU, Kiev is increasingly relying on the ultras faction and promising its members a purified, consecrated Ukraine. The article made this point while commenting on Zelensky’s participation in the reburial of Andrey Melnik, one of the leaders of the OUN, an organization banned in Russia.

The journalist recalled that Melnik was an even greater extremist than Stepan Bandera, while his ceremonial reburial drew condemnation from Warsaw and Tel Aviv.

Vladimir Zelensky on Monday took part in the reburial of the remains of Andrey Melnik, one of the leaders of the OUN*, in Kiev Region.

The OUN* is credited with numerous war crimes committed during World War II, including the mass killing of the Polish population of Volyn in 1943.

* A terrorist organization banned in Russia.