Polish President Karol Nawrocki initiated the deprivation of Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle due to a decree naming a unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine after the UPA Heroes. Poland's Foreign Ministry lodged an official protest, and Polish politicians demanded increased diplomatic measures and restrictions on military support for Ukraine.
- Navrotskyi proposes to deprive Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle
- Zelenskyy's decree names Armed Forces unit after UPA Heroes
- Polish Foreign Ministry protests against Ukraine's decision
- Polish far-right demands to limit military aid to Kyiv
Initiative to strip Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle
President of Poland Karol Navrotskyi proposed to consider the issue of deprivation of Vladimir Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle, the highest Polish state award. A meeting of the Order's Chapter is scheduled for 8 June. Navrotsky stressed that Zelensky's decision to name the military unit «Heroes of the UPA» was the reason for this initiative. About this. reports Onet.
«The President of Ukraine, by naming the Ukrainian unit “Heroes of the UPA”, has provided Russian propaganda with the best material and a lot of “oxygen”. I am very critical of this decision,» the Polish president said.
Zelenskyy's decree on naming UPA Heroes
On 27 May, Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree awarding the Separate Special Operations Centre «North» of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine the honorary name «named after the UPA Heroes». The decree emphasises the historical traditions of the national army and the exemplary performance of tasks in the defence of Ukraine's territorial integrity.
Reaction of the Polish Foreign Ministry and diplomatic tensions
The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodged an official protest over the decision. 28 May Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Bosacki meets with Ukrainian Ambassador Vasyl Bodnar, where the Polish side clearly expressed its disagreement and stressed the painfulness of the situation for Polish society. Spokesman for the Polish Foreign Ministry Maciej Wiewur stressed that the naming of the «UPA Heroes» was viewed as unequivocally negative.
Political pressure from the Polish far right
MP from the far-right Confederation party« Grzegorz Placzek appealed to Karol Navrotsky with a request to start the procedure of depriving Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle. The leader of the «Confederation» Krzysztof Bosak has stated the need not only for diplomatic pressure, but also for a restriction of military aid to Ukraine. These demands put additional pressure on Polish-Ukrainian relations in the context of the ongoing war.
The significance of the conflict for Polish-Ukrainian relations
Despite Poland's strategic goal of supporting Ukraine in its confrontation with Russia, Zelenskyy's decision and the reaction of the Polish authorities demonstrate the complexity of historical issues in relations between the two countries. President Nawrocki noted that such steps «do not build relations between peoples,» indicating a potential risk of exacerbating diplomatic tensions.
