warsaw, polandAP —
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy has returned Poland’s highest honor after Poland’s president stripped him of the award following a re-emergence of political controversy over its World War II history.
President Zelenskiy explained the order in a social media post, writing that Ukrainians believe the order “was meant for the Ukrainian people and our military.” “Today, I sent the order back to the President of Poland, which I believe will confirm the respect that Ukrainians deserve in the future.”
The message posted on X includes a photo of the Polish order and a postal receipt indicating that it will be mailed to the Polish Presidential Office.
President Karol Navrocki has decided to strip Zelenskiy of his Order of the White Eagle over the Ukrainian leader’s decision to name his unit after a Ukrainian paramilitary group accused of massacring Poles during World War II.
Former Polish President Andrzej Duda presented Zelenskiy with an award in 2023 for his work in security, resilience and human rights.
On May 26, President Zelenskiy issued a presidential decree naming Ukraine’s special operations forces after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), which operated in the 1940s and 1950s and has been accused of mass murder in Poland.
“For the majority of Polish society, the Ukrainian rebels remain above all the organization that committed the cruelest crimes against the people of the Republic of Poland during World War II,” Nawrocki said in a 13-minute speech on social media.
Zelenskiy’s move reopens old wounds in Poland
The Ukrainian decree faced widespread criticism in Poland, which hosts millions of Ukrainian refugees and is a major supporter of Kiev’s fight against four years of Russian aggression. However, Nawrocki is a nationalist politician who exploited anti-Ukrainian sentiment for electoral gain. Ukrainians living in Poland face increasing prejudice despite their contribution to the economy.
Navrocki said the decision to discredit does not mean that Poland’s support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia will diminish.
Zelenskiy said in a post on Saturday that Ukraine appreciates Poland’s support and remains open to resolving its historical differences with Poland. “I am proud of my people and all Ukrainian warriors.”
Kirillo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, wrote on Telegram that Navrokki’s decision was “an unfriendly act against our people” and “a gift to Moscow’s aggressors, which they will definitely use against both countries.”
Four Ukrainian officials, including Budanov, said they would return national honors bestowed on them by Poland.
Some in Ukraine criticized the decision to return Polish honors.
“The harmful and wrong decisions of the current president of Poland cannot be corrected by other wrong decisions of ours,” former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk wrote to X.
Poland is scheduled to host a major event on Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction next week, and Zelenskiy is expected to attend.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Nawrocki’s political rival, urged the two leaders to “calm emotions rather than inflame tensions.”
“The front lines are moving elsewhere,” Tusk wrote on social media Friday night, adding that the spat between Poland and Ukraine “pleased President Putin and shocked our allies.”
President Zelenskiy’s May executive order said the designation was aimed at restoring military traditions and recognizing the troops’ performance in defending Ukraine’s territorial integrity and independence.
The UPA fought both Nazi Germany and Soviet forces for Ukraine’s independence. However, he is accused of killing tens of thousands of Poles, mainly in the Nazi-occupied areas of Volhynia and eastern Galicia. In 2016, Poland’s parliament recognized the UPA’s crimes as genocide.
Ukrainians claim that armed groups from both countries, including the UPA and Polish underground groups, were involved in the attacks and retaliation, resulting in large-scale casualties among Polish and Ukrainian civilians.
Poland and Ukraine have recently made progress on the issue of exhuming Polish victims. A meeting between the two presidents in Warsaw in December suggested progress toward historical reconciliation.
