Polish President Moves to Revoke Zelenskyy’s Highest Honour Over UPA Renaming
Prime Minister Donald Tusk urges restraint to avoid benefiting Russia, while the award jury prepares to discuss the revocation on June 8.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki has initiated proceedings to revoke Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest honour. The diplomatic move follows a decree issued by Zelenskyy on May 26, which renamed a Ukrainian special forces unit the "Heroes of the UPA" to restore the historical traditions of the national army. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army, formed during World War II, is widely condemned in Poland for massacres against ethnic Polish civilians in regions such as Volhynia and eastern Galicia.
Nawrocki, who assumed office in 2025 with a more sceptical stance toward Ukraine than his predecessor, argued on May 29 that glorifying the UPA disqualifies Ukraine from the European family. Speaking in Warsaw, he stated that Ukraine was not ready for European integration while it honoured individuals he described as murderers of women and children. The president’s motion requires the countersignature of Prime Minister Donald Tusk to take effect, placing the government in a delicate political position.
Tusk has distanced himself from the revocation, urging restraint to prevent the dispute from benefiting Russia. While acknowledging that Zelenskyy’s decision violated Polish historical sensibility, the prime minister warned that quarrelling over the past allows the Kremlin to win the future. Tusk emphasised that every nation is entitled to its own interpretation of history but called for greater awareness of the grim legacy the UPA represents to Poles.
The controversy has drawn sharp criticism from Polish media and political figures. The daily Gazeta Wyborza reported on June 1 that Nawrocki had used the opportunity to inflame anti-Ukrainian sentiment. Deputy Marshal of the Polish Parliament Piotr Zgorzelski told broadcaster TVN on June 2 that Zelenskyy was attempting to rally nationalist forces in Ukraine while ignoring Polish sensibilities, though he maintained that the reaction should be tough rather than hostile.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry issued assurances on May 29 that the renaming was not aimed at Poland but symbolised opposition to Moscow’s imperial policies. The dispute arises at a sensitive time, with the fifth Ukraine Recovery Conference scheduled to take place in Gdansk on June 25 and 26. The award jury is set to discuss the case regarding the revocation of the Order of the White Eagle on June 8.
