Zelenskiy returns Polish honour, historical row deepens
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy returned Poland’s highest state honour, amid an escalating historic dispute between the two allies after Polish President Karol Nawrocki withdrew the award.
Zelenskiy said on the X channel that he sent back the Order of the White Eagle, which he received in 2023 as a symbol of friendship between Poland and Ukraine.
While he described the decoration as a symbol of Poland’s “highest trust”, he suggested that it no longer carries the same meaning after Nawrocki’s decision.
But he said Ukraine was still open to cooperation with Poland, despite the public controversy that began when Zelenskiy renamed a military unit in honor of World War II-era Ukrainian rebels accused of massacring Poles.
“Ukraine will remain open to all forms of meaningful interaction with Poland to prevent misinterpretation of the complex and painful pages of our peoples’ past and to ensure due respect for all innocent victims of the 20th century.” he wrote.
Nawrocki said on Friday that the cancellation was not directed at the Ukrainian people and did not change Poland’s strategic support for Ukraine.
The dispute stems from a historical debate over the legacy of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), whose members are honored in Ukraine for resisting Soviet rule after World War II.
But during the war, the group murdered tens of thousands of Poles and Jews in what is now Western Ukraine.
Zelenskiy triggered the controversy in late May when he nicknamed the Ukrainian army fighting Russian forces “UPA Heroes”.
The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Kyrylo Budanov, also announced that he would return the Polish state award.
Budanov wrote on Telegram on Saturday that he had renounced the Golden Officer Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, which he received last year.
Budanov called Nawrocki’s decision “a hostile gesture towards the Ukrainian people and a gift to aggressor Russia.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had previously announced that the Polish award was returned.
Later on Saturday, former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma also announced that he would renounce the Order of the White Eagle, according to media reports.
Former president Viktor Yushchenko also announced that he gave up his award in protest.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called on both presidents to exercise restraint.
“The conflict between Poland and Ukraine is a source of joy for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and a shock for our allies,” Tusk wrote on X on Friday.
The dispute emerged less than a week before a reconstruction conference for Ukraine in the Polish port city of Gdansk.
via Reuters
