in the village of Wyrka, near Huta Stepańska, to carry out this mission, but faced the intensification of anti-Polish operations by Ukrainian nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). When the Volhynian massacres started, Kochański took command of the self-defense center at Huta Stepańska where over 5,000 Poles were taking shelter. On 7 July 1943 the UPA began to concentrate its forces in the region, and on 16 July the Banderists prepared to attack, burning down 15 towns adjacent to Huta Stepańska. On the same day, UPA forces attacked the center itself and the fighting turned to hand-to-hand combat. After 32 hours of combat, Kochański decided to break through the ring of stronger Ukrainian forces along with the people. The plan partly succeeded. The civilians were evacuated to the area of Wydmer below Włodzimierz, where they dispersed to Kowel, Sarny and Przebraże. 40 people fell defending Huta Stepańska and Kochański himself was wounded in the arm. More than 600 civilians died in attacks on nearby villages or during the evacuation of Huta Stepańska, when panic led some to break away before the group effort. During the second half of July 1943, Kochański organized a unit of almost 500 men to operate in the Stara Huta district in the Kostopol region, where the Polish self-defense base was located. The core of the unit was made up of former defenders of Huta Stepańska. For five months, they fought a series of skirmishes with UPA units in the Kostopol district, saving thousands of Poles. Kochański also continued fighting the Germans, sometimes with the cooperation of Soviet units such as the famous Kowpak unit. Kochański's biggest victory took place 19 November 1943 at Moczulanka, where with the cooperation of Soviet units assembled around Szytow and commanded by Captain Kotlarow, he was able to break up and partly disperse a group of 1200 UPA troops carrying out an assault on the self-defense center at Huta Stara. This was the last time the UPA were able to launch attacks on Huta Stara. Kochański's unit became a major force, numbering nearly 700 well-armed soldiers. The unit made long marches to defend the Poles and demonstrate its strength. In the second half of December 1943 Kochański, recently promoted to captain, led the unit to Huta Stara, where was to be stationed over Christmas. Arrest and return from the Soviet Gulag In December 1943 Kochański stopped with his unit