Poland revokes Zelenskyy’s highest state honour over WWII dispute

Polish President Karol Nawrocki on Friday revoked the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest state decoration, awarded to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The decision followed outrage in Poland over Kyiv’s recent move to name a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). Polish historians and officials hold the nationalist formation responsible for the mass killing of tens of thousands of Polish civilians in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia during World War II.

Historical tensions

In a statement, Nawrocki stressed that the move was directed at the Ukrainian government’s actions rather than the Ukrainian people, and insisted it did not signal a change in Poland’s strategic support for Ukraine. Earlier this month, the Foreign Ministry said the naming decision “hurts the memory of the victims” and undermines historical reconciliation. The UPA remains a contentious issue: many Ukrainians view it as part of their struggle against Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, while Poland regards the 1943‑44 massacres as ethnic cleansing and genocide.

Strategic support unchanged

Poland is one of Ukraine’s strongest military, political, and humanitarian supporters, hosting millions of refugees and serving as a key logistics hub for Western aid. However, tensions have periodically resurfaced over agricultural imports, exhumations, and competing wartime narratives.