Polish President Strips Zelenskyy of Top State Honor After UPA Naming Controversy
Polish President Karol Nawrocki has revoked the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest state honor, from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Ukraine named a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a World War II-era nationalist force blamed in Poland for massacring tens of thousands of Polish civilians.
The decision marks one of the sharpest public clashes between Warsaw and Kyiv since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
While Nawrocki stressed that Poland’s support for Ukraine against Russia remains unchanged, Ukrainian officials condemned the move. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called it a strategic mistake, while intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov returned a Polish state decoration in protest.
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The dispute centers on competing views of the UPA. Many Ukrainians regard the organization as part of their struggle for independence, while Poland views it as responsible for the Volhynia massacres that killed roughly 100,000 Poles during World War II.
The clash comes at a sensitive moment as Poland remains one of Ukraine’s most important military and political partners.
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