The term "bandera" can refer to a flag in general, but it can also specifically refer to the flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), which is a red and black horizontal bicolour. The UPA was a paramilitary group affiliated with the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), a political organization formed in 1929 with the goal of establishing an independent Ukrainian state. The red and black colours used in the UPA flag are an expression of Ukrainian nationalism that long pre-dates fascism and the Second World War, with references to those colours showing up in Slavic songs and poetry that date as far back as the 12th century. The red is for love and the black is for sorrow and how they are intertwined. Later, those colours became associated with Ukrainian nationalism.

It is worth noting that the term "bandera" can also refer to a battalion-equivalent in the Spanish Legion.