Zelenskyy sends back Polish White Eagle award over UPA dispute
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Saturday that he has returned Poland's highest state honor to Warsaw after it was revoked over Kyiv's decision to name a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, a formation Polish historians blame for wartime massacres.
Award returned amid historical row
Zelenskyy stated that the honor, bestowed in 2023, was intended for the Ukrainian people and their armed forces rather than for him personally. "That is what was said at the time. Today, I sent the Order back to the President of Poland," he wrote on X, adding that Ukraine remains open to dialogue with Warsaw regarding difficult chapters of their shared history.
The Ukrainian leader underlined that the decoration requires "not only merit but also respect for the values that form the foundation of our community." "Therefore, if it is considered that this special symbol may remain with Catherine II, Benito Mussolini, and Gerhard Schroder, then we in Ukraine will not argue with that," he said, thanking the Polish people for their support during the ongoing war with Russia.
UPA unit naming sparks outrage
Nawrocki on Friday revoked the award following widespread outrage in Poland over Kyiv's decision to name a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). Polish historians and officials hold the nationalist formation responsible for the mass killing of tens of thousands of Polish civilians in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia during World War II.
While many Ukrainians regard the UPA as part of the struggle for independence against both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, Poland officially regards the massacres of 1943-44 as an act of ethnic cleansing and genocide.
Warsaw stresses support for Kyiv
In a statement, Nawrocki stressed that the revocation targeted the Ukrainian government's actions rather than the Ukrainian people. He insisted the move did not signal any change in Poland's strategic support for Ukraine as it defends against Russian invasion.
Poland granted Zelenskyy the Order of the White Eagle in 2023 during a period of intense bilateral cooperation following Moscow's February 2022 invasion. The decoration had symbolized what Warsaw then described as unbreakable solidarity between the neighboring states.
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