Donald Tusk, Polish Prime Minister, asks Zelensky and Nawrocki for restraint. “The front line is elsewhere, [esta disputa] cheers Putin and shocks our allies”
Warsaw, Poland (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky returned Poland’s highest state honor to the country, after the Polish president withdrew his decoration in the context of a politically charged dispute over the history of World War II.
Ukrainians believe the order “was aimed at the Ukrainian people and our army,” Zelensky wrote in a social media post in which he explained his gesture. “Today, I returned the Order to the President of Poland. I believe that the future will confirm the respect that Ukrainians deserve.”
The message published on the social network X was accompanied by photos of the Polish order and a postal receipt that it was about to be sent to the Polish presidential office.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki decided to remove Zelensky from power over the Ukrainian leader’s decision to name a military unit after a Ukrainian paramilitary organization accused of massacring Poles during World War II.
Former Polish President Andrzej Duda had awarded the decoration to Zelensky in 2023 for services to security, resilience and defense of Human Rights. Zelensky issued a decree on May 26 this year naming a unit of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA, which operated during the 1940s and 1950s and which has been accused by Poland of mass murders.
The then President of Poland, Andrzej Duda (right), honoring the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, on April 5, 2023. (Kacper Pempel/Reuters)
“For the majority of Polish society, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army remains, above all, a formation responsible for cruel crimes against the citizens of the Republic of Poland during World War II,” Nawrocki said in a 13-minute speech posted on social media.
Zelensky Pass reopens old wounds in Poland
The Ukrainian decree was met with widespread criticism in Poland, which has welcomed millions of Ukrainian refugees and is a key supporter of Kiev in its fight against Russian invasion four and a half years ago. However, it exploited anti-Ukrainian sentiment for electoral gains. Ukrainians in Poland have faced increasing prejudice despite their contribution to the country’s economy.
The decision to revoke statehood does not mean that Poland’s support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia will diminish, Nawrocki said.
Ukraine is grateful to Poland for its support and will remain open to resolving historical differences with Poland, Zelensky wrote Saturday in his post. “I am proud of our people and EVERY Ukrainian warrior.”
The head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, Kyrylo Budanov, wrote on Telegram that Nawrocki’s decision was “a hostile act against our people” and “a gift to the aggressor, Moscow, who will certainly use it against both our countries.”
Four Ukrainian officials, including Budanov, said they will return the state honors Poland bestowed on them. Some in Ukraine criticized the decision to return Polish decorations.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk, former prime minister of Ukraine, wrote in X that a “harmful and incorrect decision by the current president of Poland cannot be corrected by other incorrect decisions on our part.”
Requests to resolve differences
Poland is scheduled to host a major event on Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction next week, and Zelensky is expected to attend.
The Polish Prime Minister, , asked the two leaders to “moderate emotions and not fuel tensions”.
“The front line is elsewhere,” Tusk wrote on social media late Friday, adding that the dispute between Poland and Ukraine “delights Putin and shocks our allies.”
In the decree he promulgated in May, Zelensky stated that the designation aimed to restore military traditions and recognize the unit’s performance in defending the territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian People’s Army (UPA) fought for Ukraine’s independence against Nazi Germany and Soviet forces. But he was accused of killing tens of thousands of Poles, mainly in the Nazi-occupied regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia. In 2016, the Polish Parliament recognized the crimes committed by the UPA as genocide.
Ukrainians claim that armed formations on both sides, including the UPA and Polish underground forces, were involved in attacks and reprisals that resulted in a large number of civilian casualties among Poles and Ukrainians.
Poland and Ukraine had recently made progress on the issue of exhuming Polish victims. A meeting between the two presidents in Warsaw in December signaled progress in the historic reconciliation.
