Polish President Karol Nawrocki has stripped his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky of the highest honor due to the controversial naming of a military unit.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki has stripped his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest honor, over Kiev’s decision to name a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), nationalists who massacred Poles during World War II.“I decided to cancel the Order of the White Eagle from the President of Ukraine,” Nawrocki announced in a statement.“We must not betray the sacrifices of our ancestors with silence. These are graves that should not be forgotten. These are the wounds of history that demand truth, remembering and respect.”Nawrocki said the decision came after consultation with the Order of the White Eagle chapter. “In light of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s approval to name one of the units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces “Heroes of the United Progressive Alliance”,…
“I have decided to cancel the Order of the White Eagle.”
He stressed that “this decision is not directed against the Ukrainian people” and “does not mean a change in the strategic direction of Polish security policy.”
Why UPA is controversial
“For the overwhelming majority of Polish society, the United Progressive Alliance remains, above all, a formation responsible for the brutal crimes committed against the citizens of the Republic of Poland during World War II,” Nawrocki said.
“The facts are not subject to negotiation; they do not change with changing political circumstances or necessities. The facts are that at least 100,000 Polish citizens were killed by the United Progressive Alliance.”“They were not soldiers on the battlefield. Rather, they were unarmed civilians. They were brutally and brutally killed,” he added.Poland officially recognized the massacres as genocide. Ukraine rejects this label and says that the massacres occurred in the context of long-standing anti-Ukrainian policies by the Polish state before the war.Nawrocki pointed to recent progress in Polish-Ukrainian relations, including the return of St. Nicholas Church in Kiev and permission for the exhumation of Polish victims at several sites. He added, “All these measures have provided reason to believe that Poland and Ukraine are gradually finding a path towards lasting reconciliation.” “That is why the Ukrainian authorities’ decision to glorify the United Progressive Alliance is not only outrageous.
“It is also incomprehensible and deeply disappointing.”
Ukraine responds and Tusk urges calm
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sipha described the decision as a “strategic mistake from which only Moscow benefits.”Andrzej Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, said on Saturday that he would give up the Polish state medal he received, in solidarity with his boss.Nawrocki said the UPA issue is particularly sensitive because “the Polish army has trained thousands of Ukrainian soldiers.
We cannot remain indifferent today to the fact that some of them will now serve under the banner of the United Progressive Alliance. This is unacceptable to us.”Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a political opponent of Nawrocki, wrote on social media: “The conflict between Poland and Ukraine delights Putin and shocks our allies. The task of Presidents Zelensky and Nawrocki is to calm emotions, not raise tensions. The front line extends elsewhere.”Speaking about the EU’s aspirations, Nawrocki said: “Ukraine’s path towards European structures also requires a willingness to face the difficult chapters of its history honestly. A united Europe was built on the rejection of totalitarianism and the cult of violence. These principles must apply to everyone. For those who do not understand this truth, there is no place for them in the European Union, and Poland will certainly not allow this.”
“The Order of the White Eagle was awarded to Zelensky in 2023 by former President Andrzej Duda. “The Order of the White Eagle is not just an ordinary award. It is a symbol of the highest trust of the Republic of Poland. It signifies the special connection with the Polish state and the nation’s deep gratitude,” Nawrocki said.The decision comes days before Zelensky’s scheduled visit to Poland to attend the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk.
