Polish President Karol Nawrocki decided to withdraw the highest Polish state award, the Order of the White Eagle, from his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, the office of the President of Poland announced on Friday. Nawrocki responded to Zelensky’s decision to name a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), which committed many acts of violence during World War II. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha condemned Nawrocki’s decision and announced that he would return the award awarded to him by Poland. TASR informs about it according to the reports of PAP, AFP and the Polsat News portal.
- Polish President Karol Nawrocki took away the Order of the White Eagle from Volodymyr Zelensky.
- The reason is the naming of the Ukrainian military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.
- In Poland, the UPA is associated with the Volyn massacre and other post-war violence.
- Nawrocki stressed that the move will not affect Poland’s support for Ukraine against Russia.
- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha returns his Polish state award.
In May, Zelenskyy adopted a decree recognizing the UPA as “heroes”. While Ukraine considers the group an anti-Soviet resistance movement, Poland holds it responsible for the Volyn massacre, deportations of Jews, and violence that continued in southeastern Poland, northeastern Slovakia, and western Ukraine after the end of World War II.
Political tension is growing
The President of Poland then stated that he requested to include this issue in the agenda of the upcoming meeting of the White Eagle Council Chapter.
On Friday, Nawrocki said that the Ukrainian president’s decision interferes with the Ukrainian-Polish friendship, which has been built for many years, PAP reported.
“The President of Poland is the Grand Master of the Council of the White Eagle and is obliged to protect the honor of this highest state award,” Nawrocki said in a video on the X Network, announcing that he had decided to strip Zelensky of Poland’s highest state award.
Reaction of the Ukrainian side
Nawrocki noted that this decision is not directed against the Ukrainian people and does not mean a change in the strategic direction of Poland’s security policy. He added that nothing has changed when it comes to supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
Zelensky was awarded this honor in 2023 by Nawrocký’s predecessor in the office of president, Andrzej Duda.
The head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Sybiha, said that only Moscow will gain from this “reckless” decision of the Polish president. He announced that in response he would return Poland’s high state decoration – the Commander’s Cross with a Star of the Order of Merit – which was awarded to him in October 2022.
“We regret that emotions prevailed in Warsaw and forced Polish politicians to take unjustified, impulsive and disrespectful actions, not even towards President Zelensky, but above all towards the Ukrainian state,” Sybiha said, according to Ukrainian agency UNN.
