Polish President Karol Nawrocki has stripped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of Poland’s highest honour, the Order of the White Eagle, over Kiev’s decision to name a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), nationalists who massacred Poles during World War II.“I have decided to cancel the White Eagle order from the President of Ukraine,” Nawrocki announced in a statement.“We must not silently betray the sacrifice of our ancestors. These are graves that must not be forgotten. These are the wounds of history that demand truth, remembrance and respect.”Nawrocki said the decision came after consultation with the chapter of the Order of the White Eagle. “In light of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s consent to name one of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ‘Hero of the UPA’, … “I have decided to cancel the White Eagle order.”He stressed that “this decision is not directed against the Ukrainian people” and “does not indicate a change in the strategic direction of Polish security policy.”
Why is UPA controversial?
Nawrocki said, “For the overwhelming majority of Polish society, the UPA is, above all, a formation responsible for the brutal crimes committed against citizens of the Republic of Poland during World War II.” “The facts are not subject to negotiation; they do not change with political circumstances or needs. The fact is that at least 100,000 Polish citizens were murdered by the UPA.”“They were not soldiers on the battlefield. They were unarmed civilians. They were brutally and brutally murdered,” he said.Poland has officially recognized the massacre as genocide. Ukraine rejects that label and argues that the massacre occurred in the context of long-standing anti-Ukrainian policies by the former Polish state.Nawrocki cited recent progress in Polish-Ukrainian relations, including the return of St. Nicholas Church in Kiev and permission to exhume Polish victims in several locations. “All these actions provide grounds to believe that Poland and Ukraine are gradually finding a path towards lasting reconciliation,” he said. “That is why the decision of the Ukrainian authorities to glorify the UPA is not only outrageous. This is beyond comprehension and extremely disappointing.”
Ukraine retaliates, Tusk urges peace
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha called the decision “a strategic mistake that only benefits Moscow.”Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said on Saturday he was resigning the Polish state medal he received in solidarity with his president.Nawrocki said the UPA issue was particularly sensitive because “the Polish military has trained thousands of Ukrainian soldiers. We cannot remain indifferent today to the fact that some of them will now work under the banner of UPA. This is unacceptable to us.”Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Nawrocki’s political rival, wrote on social media: “The conflict between Poland and Ukraine pleases Putin and shocks our allies. The task of Presidents Zelensky and Nawrocki is to calm emotions, not escalate tensions. The front line moves elsewhere.”Nawrocki addressed EU aspirations: “Ukraine’s path towards European structures also requires a willingness to honestly confront the difficult chapters of its history. A united Europe was built on the rejection of totalitarianism and the cult of violence. These principles must apply to everyone. There can be no place in the EU for those who do not understand this, and Poland will certainly not allow this.“Zelensky was awarded the Order of the White Eagle in 2023 by former President Andrzej Duda. Nawrocki said: “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 symbolizes a special bond with the Polish state and the deep gratitude of the nation.”The decision comes days before Zelensky travels to Poland for a Ukraine recovery conference in Gdansk.