A sharp dispute over World War II history has reignited diplomatic tensions between Kyiv and Warsaw. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has decided to return Poland’s highest state honor after the Polish president moved to strip him of the prestigious award.
Taking to social media, Zelensky published photos of the decoration alongside a postal receipt proving it was being mailed back to the Polish presidential office.
“Ukrainians believed the order ‘was meant for the Ukrainian People and our army,'” Zelensky wrote. “Today, I sent the Order back to the President of Poland. I believe the future will confirm the respect Ukrainians deserve.”
The Root of the Conflict: Naming of Military Unit Reopens Old Wounds
Polish President Karol Nawrocki’s decision to revoke the “Order of the White Eagle”—which had been bestowed upon Zelensky in 2023 by former President Andrzej Duda—came in response to a controversial decree by the Ukrainian leader. On May 26, Zelensky officially named a unit of Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).
The UPA, a paramilitary organization that operated during the 1940s and 1950s, fought for Ukrainian independence against both Nazi Germany and Soviet forces. However, in Poland, the group stands accused of massacring tens of thousands of Poles, primarily in the Nazi-occupied regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia. In 2016, the Polish Parliament officially recognized those wartime crimes as genocide.
Nawrocki, a nationalist politician, stated that for the majority of Polish society, the UPA remains a formation responsible for cruel crimes. However, he emphasized that the decision to revoke the honor does not mean Poland’s military support for Ukraine against Russian aggression will decrease.
Reactions in Ukraine and Donald Tusk’s Call for Calm
The return of the honors has triggered strong reactions both within Ukraine and across its borders:
- Ukrainian Presidential Office: Chief of Staff Kyrylo Budanov condemned Poland’s decision as “an unfriendly act toward our people” and “a gift to the Moscow aggressor.” He, along with three other high-ranking Ukrainian officials, announced they would also return their respective Polish state honors.
- Internal Criticism: Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk criticized Kyiv’s retaliation, stating that a harmful and incorrect decision by the current Polish president cannot be corrected by making further incorrect decisions.
Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a political rival of President Nawrocki, made an urgent plea to de-escalate emotions and avoid stoking further tensions.
“The front line runs elsewhere,” Tusk wrote on social media. “The row between Poland and Ukraine delights Putin and shocks our allies.”
The timing of the diplomatic fallout is highly sensitive. Poland is scheduled to host a major international summit next week focusing on Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction, an event Zelensky was expected to attend. While both nations had recently made progress regarding the exhumation of Polish wartime victims, this latest incident threatens to derail historical reconciliation efforts once again.
