Zelenskiy could be stripped of top Polish honour, Poland's president says
Controversy Over Ukraine's Recognition of Insurgent Army and Polish Response
By Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk
Background of the Honour and Recent Developments
WARSAW, May 29 (Reuters) - Poland's president said on Friday he wanted a state body to discuss stripping Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Poland's top honour, after Ukraine renamed an army unit after nationalist insurgents who massacred Poles in World War Two.
Poland has been a staunch supporter of Kyiv during Russia's war in Ukraine, and former President Andrzej Duda awarded Zelenskiy the Order of the White Eagle in 2023.
Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and Its Legacy
But Zelenskiy has caused indignation in Poland by signing a decree recognising a Ukrainian special forces unit's contribution to the fight against Russian forces by naming it after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).
Some Ukrainians regard the UPA as heroes for the resistance they mounted against the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, and as symbols of Kyiv's struggle for independence from Moscow.
The Volhynia Massacres and Historical Tensions
But the UPA was also involved in the Volhynia massacres, a series of killings from 1943 to 1945 in which Poland says around 100,000 Poles were killed by Ukrainian nationalists. Thousands of Ukrainians also died in reprisal killings.
"Glorifying the UPA has provided Russian propaganda with ample oxygen for disinformation," Polish President Karol Nawrocki told reporters in Warsaw on Friday.
Poland's Strategic Goals and Official Proceedings
He said supporting Ukraine against Russia was a strategic goal for Poland. But the Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle, an advisory council which oversees Poland's highest and oldest state decoration, will meet on June 8, he said.
"I proposed that one of the items on the agenda be the revocation of President Zelenskiy's Order of the White Eagle," he said, explaining that "certain mechanisms" such as a Chapter meeting were needed before he could take a final decision.
Ukrainian Response to Polish Concerns
In Kyiv, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhyi Tykhyi told journalists it was unfortunate that there had been a negative reaction in Poland to naming the unit after the UPA. Ukraine had not wanted to cause offence, he said.
"Our history confirms that only Moscow benefits from disputes between Ukrainians and Poles," he said. For Ukrainian soldiers, he said, "the struggle of the UPA symbolises strictly the opposition to Moscow's imperial policy".
Political and Social Reactions in Poland
Decision 'Wounds' Memory of Victims
DECISION 'WOUNDS' MEMORY OF VICTIMS
Nawrocki, a conservative nationalist inspired by U.S. President Donald Trump, has tapped in to weariness among some Poles with the large number of Ukrainians in the country, and promised during his election campaign to put "Poles first".
Poland's foreign ministry said on X on Friday that renaming the Ukrainian unit after the UPA "wounds the memory of the victims of that organisation and strikes at the dialogue between our nations."
Ukrainian and Russian Reactions
A spokesman for the Ukrainian presidency declined to comment on Nawrocki’s remarks, saying Ukraine was thankful for Poland's support "and we hope that our independence, and Poland's, will remain strong despite all the Russian attempts to kill it".
Zelenskiy received the Order of the White Eagle in recognition of his contributions to bilateral relations, democracy, peace and security in Europe and for "steadfastness in defending inalienable human rights".
Russia on Thursday said it had summoned Luxembourg's ambassador to denounce the exhumation of the remains of Andriy Melnyk, a leader of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists, a group allied to the UPA.
Melnyk, branded a Nazi collaborator by Moscow, was reburied in Kyiv last week with full military honours.
Reporting Credits
(Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk in WarsawAdditional reporting by Pawel Florkiewicz and Dan FlynnEditing by Ron Popeski, Timothy Heritage and Matthew Lewis)
