'Ideologies responsible for genocide': Poland strips Zelenskyy of highest honour over army unit naming

Polish President Karol Nawrocki has stripped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest honour, over Kyiv’s decision to name a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), nationalists who massacred Poles during World War Two.“I have decided to revoke the Order of the White Eagle from the President of Ukraine,” Nawrocki declared in a statement.“We must not betray the sacrifices of our ancestors with silence. 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 consulting with the Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle. “In light of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s consent to name one of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ‘Heroes of the UPA,’ … I have decided to revoke the Order of the White Eagle.”He emphasised that “this decision is not directed against the Ukrainian people” and “does not signify a change in the strategic direction of Polish security policy.”

Why the UPA is controversial

“For the overwhelming majority of Polish society, the UPA remains, above all, a formation responsible for the brutal crimes committed against citizens of the Republic of Poland during World War II,” Nawrocki said. “Facts are not subject to negotiation; they do not change with political circumstances or necessities. The facts are that at least 100,000 Polish citizens were murdered by the UPA.”“They were not soldiers on the battlefield. They were defenceless civilians. They were murdered brutally and savagely,” he added.Poland has officially recognised the massacres as genocide. Ukraine rejects that label and argues the massacres took place in the context of long-standing anti-Ukrainian policies by the prewar Polish state.Nawrocki cited recent progress in Polish-Ukrainian relations, including the return of St Nicholas Church in Kyiv and permission to exhume Polish victims in several locations. “All these actions provided grounds for believing that Poland and Ukraine are gradually finding a path toward lasting reconciliation,” he said. “That is why the Ukrainian authorities’ decision to glorify the UPA is not only outrageous. It is also incomprehensible and deeply disappointing.”

Ukraine hits back, Tusk urges calm

Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha called the decision “a strategic mistake from which only Moscow benefits.”Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said on Saturday he was renouncing a Polish state medal he had 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 serve under the banner of the UPA. This is unacceptable to us.”Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a political opponent of Nawrocki, wrote on social media: “The conflict between Poland and Ukraine delights Putin and shocks our allies. The task of Presidents Zelenskyy and Nawrocki is to calm emotions, not to stoke tensions. The front line runs elsewhere.”Nawrocki addressed EU aspirations: “Ukraine’s path toward European structures also requires a willingness to honestly confront the difficult chapters of its own history. A united Europe was built on the rejection of totalitarianism and the cult of violence. These principles must apply to everyone. For those who do not understand this, there can be no place in the European Union, and Poland will certainly not allow it.“The Order of the White Eagle was awarded to Zelenskyy 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 Republic of Poland’s highest trust. It signifies a special bond with the Polish state and the nation’s profound gratitude.”The decision comes days before Zelenskyy is due to visit Poland for the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk.