Polish PM calls for frank Poland-Ukraine talks over military unit name dispute

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on 8 June urged Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Karol Nawrocki to hold a frank conversation, saying diplomatic efforts over the scandal caused by a Ukrainian military unit being named after the Heroes of the UPA "have produced no results".

Source: Tusk on X (Twitter), reported by European Pravda; Polish news channel Polsat News

Quote: "I publicly appeal to Presidents Karol Nawrocki and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to hold a direct and frank conversation. Before emotions destroy the solidarity that was born in the face of the Russian threat. Cooperation is in the interests of both our states and peoples, while conflict is in Moscow's interests. I think this is obvious to us all."

For reference: The Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA, was a nationalist paramilitary organisation that fought for Ukrainian independence during and after World War II, primarily against Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Poland believes that the UPA was responsible for what it considers the genocide of Poles during the Volyn (Volhynia) tragedy, a series of events that led to the ethnic cleansing of the Polish and Ukrainian populations in 1943. The tragedy was part of a long-standing rivalry between Ukrainians and Poles in what is now Ukraine's west.

Details: The Polish news channel Polsat News reported that a meeting of the Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle, a formal convening of the governing body responsible for overseeing Poland's highest and oldest state decoration, was scheduled for morning on 8 June. Karol Nawrocki proposed adding the issue of stripping Zelenskyy of the award to the agenda.

Background:

• Nawrocki's statement was a response to Zelenskyy's decision, announced several days earlier, to name one of Ukraine's military units after the Heroes of the UPA.
• Andrii Sybiha, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, earlier said that worsening relations between Ukraine and Poland benefit neither Ukrainians nor Poles.

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