Poland Revokes Zelenskyy’s Highest State Honor, Triggering Diplomatic Rift With Ukraine

By Zoey

Relations between Poland and Ukraine have come under renewed strain after Polish President Karol Nawrocki announced that he is revoking the country’s highest state decoration previously awarded to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The move has drawn strong criticism from Ukrainian officials, who argue that the decision undermines solidarity between the two neighboring nations at a time when Ukraine continues to defend itself against Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Nawrocki said he had decided to strip Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle following the Ukrainian president’s decision to name a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a nationalist armed movement that remains one of the most divisive chapters in the shared history of Poland and Ukraine.

The Order of the White Eagle had been presented to Zelenskyy in 2023 by then-Polish President Andrzej Duda in recognition of his leadership during the war, as well as his contributions to regional security, resilience, and the defense of democratic values and human rights. At the time, the award symbolized the close partnership that had developed between Warsaw and Kyiv after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The controversy began after Zelenskyy signed a decree on May 26 granting honorary status to a unit within Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces by naming it after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. Ukrainian authorities described the decision as an effort to preserve the historical traditions of Ukraine’s armed forces and honor those who fought for the country’s independence.

However, the designation immediately sparked criticism in Poland, where the UPA is widely remembered for its role in the massacres of Polish civilians during World War II. Polish historians estimate that tens of thousands of Poles were killed in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia during ethnic violence carried out in the 1940s. In 2016, Poland’s parliament officially recognized those killings as genocide, making the issue one of the most sensitive historical disputes between the two countries.

In a video address announcing his decision, Nawrocki said that for most Poles, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army is primarily associated with brutal crimes committed against citizens of the Polish Republic during the Second World War. He argued that honoring the organization was incompatible with the values represented by Poland’s highest state distinction.

Despite revoking the award, Nawrocki emphasized that the decision does not alter Poland’s commitment to supporting Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression. He said Warsaw would continue backing Kyiv despite disagreements over historical issues.

Ukrainian officials reacted swiftly and condemned the move. Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, described the decision as an unfriendly act toward the Ukrainian people and argued that it would serve the interests of Moscow by creating divisions between two close allies.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also criticized the decision, calling it a strategic mistake that benefits only Russia by weakening unity among countries supporting Ukraine.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland, Vasyl Bodnar, said the timing of the decision was especially painful, noting that Ukrainians continue to endure frequent missile and drone attacks while relying heavily on international support.

In response to Nawrocki’s announcement, several senior Ukrainian officials, including Budanov, his deputy Ihor Zhovkva, and Foreign Minister Sybiha, said they would return the Polish state honors previously awarded to them. The move reflected growing frustration in Kyiv over what officials viewed as a politically motivated decision.

Not everyone in Ukraine supported the retaliatory response. Former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk urged restraint, arguing that one controversial decision by Poland’s current president should not be answered with additional actions that could further damage relations between the two countries.

The dispute comes at a particularly delicate moment. Poland is scheduled to host a major international conference next week focused on Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction, with Zelenskyy expected to attend. The event is intended to strengthen international cooperation on rebuilding Ukraine’s economy and infrastructure after the war.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who has often differed politically with Nawrocki, appealed for calm and urged both sides to avoid escalating tensions. He warned that public disputes between Poland and Ukraine only serve Russia’s interests and risk undermining support among allies at a time when close cooperation remains essential.

Tusk stressed that the real conflict remains on the battlefield in Ukraine and argued that historical disagreements should not overshadow the broader strategic partnership between the two neighboring nations.

The disagreement highlights the continuing challenge both countries face in reconciling their interpretations of World War II history. While many Ukrainians regard the UPA as a movement that fought for national independence against both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, many Poles view the organization primarily through the lens of the massacres of Polish civilians during the war.

Ukrainian historians and officials have argued that the violence involved armed formations on both sides, including the UPA and Polish underground groups, resulting in significant civilian casualties among both Poles and Ukrainians. Nevertheless, the differing historical narratives have continued to complicate bilateral relations despite the close military and political partnership that emerged following Russia’s invasion.

In recent months, both governments had appeared to make progress on addressing long-standing historical disputes, including cooperation on the exhumation of Polish victims killed during the wartime massacres. A meeting between the Polish and Ukrainian presidents in Warsaw late last year had raised hopes that the two countries were moving toward greater historical reconciliation.

The latest diplomatic dispute, however, underscores how unresolved historical grievances continue to influence modern politics even as Poland remains one of Ukraine’s most important allies in Europe. Both governments now face the challenge of managing those differences while maintaining the strategic cooperation that has become central to regional security since the outbreak of the war.