Zelensky stripped of Poland's highest honour

(Patria) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been stripped of Poland's highest state honour, the Order of the White Eagle, due to Kyiv's decision to name a military unit after controversial World War II fighters, the BBC reported.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki called Ukraine's decision late last month to name a unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) "scandalous", "incomprehensible" and "deeply disappointing".

Nawrocki stressed that the diplomatic dispute will not affect Poland's support for Ukraine against Russia.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned Warsaw's move, calling it a "strategic mistake" and a "disrespect".

Many in Ukraine consider the UPA, which existed in the 1940s and 1950s, as heroes who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Soviet Red Army, as well as Nazi Germany and Polish authorities. Therefore, for Ukrainians, the title "Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army" is a great honour.

Poland, however, accuses the UPA of genocide against ethnic Poles in Volhynia (now Volyn in Ukraine) between 1943 and 1945.

"For the vast majority of Polish society, the UPA remains, above all, a formation responsible for brutal crimes committed against citizens of the Republic of Poland during World War II," Nawrocki said in a video posted on the president's official website.

"That is why the decision of the Ukrainian authorities to glorify the UPA is not only outrageous, but also incomprehensible and deeply disappointing," he said. "It not only harms our historical memory. It also undermines the trust built over years and in recent months," he added.

He pointed to Ukrainian refugees who were welcomed in Poland after the start of the Russian invasion in 2022. "Poles opened their borders, their homes and their hearts to millions of Ukrainians."

"Ukraine's path towards European structures also requires a willingness to honestly confront difficult chapters of its own history. A united Europe is 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."

Ukraine's European path

Ukraine has ambitions to become a member of the European Union and attended the first phase of membership talks this week in Luxembourg.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk tried to ease diplomatic tensions between Kyiv and Warsaw.

Speaking on social media on Friday, the former President of the European Council said the quarrel "delights" Russian President Vladimir Putin and called on Zelensky and Nawrocki to "calm emotions, not fuel tensions".

For Ukraine, the UPA is a symbol of resistance and the fight for independence, although Warsaw claims that around 100,000 ethnic Poles were killed in the Volhynia massacres.

The red-and-black flag of that group is often used by Ukrainian troops on the front line today. That is why Zelensky said he would use the name UPA for a military unit, "with the aim of restoring the historical traditions of the national army".

The Polish Order of the White Eagle was awarded to Zelensky in 2023 by then-President Andrzej Duda.

Zelensky did not directly comment on the dispute, but Sybiha called it "a strategic mistake by the President of Poland, from which only Moscow benefits".

He said that, as a result of the announcement, he would return the award he received from Poland in 2022.

"No president of another country will dictate our history to us," he said.