On Monday, Polish President Karol Nawrocki denied that the current tension with Ukraine on the issue of historical memory is related to the internal political struggle in Warsaw. He was responding to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s claim that the withdrawal of the Polish state award was the result of a domestic political game in Poland, the Warsaw correspondent TASR reported.
- Polish President Karol Nawrocki denies that the dispute with Ukraine is an internal political struggle.
- Nawrocki claims that the core of the dispute is a different assessment of Ukrainian nationalism.
- Poland considers the use of the red-black Bandera flag unacceptable.
- Nawrocki deprived Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle for naming a military unit.
- Zelenskyi accuses the Polish president of inciting anti-Ukraine sentiments for political points.
Nawrocki emphasized that, in his opinion, this is not about internal Polish affairs, but about a different assessment of history and symbols. According to the Polish head of state, the dispute primarily concerns the approach to Ukrainian nationalism and its symbolism.
Historical memory
The president said that Zelenskyi is wrong in this assessment and that, according to him, Polish society has a clear awareness of the extent of crimes committed by Ukrainian nationalists against the Polish population. He reminded that the use of the red-black flag associated with the Bandera movement is unacceptable in Poland.
In connection with the tension surrounding historical symbols, Nawrocki emphasized that not only the president, but also the government should act unitedly on such issues. According to him, this is a fundamental attitude of the state towards the interpretation of history and the legacy of organizations that are associated with violence against Polish civilians.
Award for Zelensky
Nawrocki justified the decision to withdraw the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest state award, from Volodymyr Zelenskiy by the Ukrainian president’s move to name one of the units of the Ukrainian army. It was named after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), which participated in the extermination of the Polish civilian population during World War II.
The Polish head of state perceives the commemoration of the UPA in the official context of the Ukrainian armed forces as crossing a sensitive border in the issue of historical memory. According to him, this very step was the impetus for withdrawing the high Polish award that Zelensky received after the beginning of the Russian invasion.
Strained relationships
The Kyiv Post portal quoted the Ukrainian president, according to whom the Polish president is inciting anti-Ukrainian sentiments with the aim of gaining political points on the domestic scene. At the same time, Zelensky warned that such an approach could negatively affect relations between Poland and Ukraine.
