Polish president decides to strip Zelenskyy of Order of the White Eagle

Polish President Karol Nawrocki has decided to strip Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle.

Source: Nawrocki on X (Twitter) on the evening of 19 June, as reported by European Pravda

Details: In a speech lasting almost 13 minutes, Nawrocki said that the Order of the White Eagle is not an ordinary award but a symbol of Poland's highest trust, signifying a special bond with the Polish state and the gratitude of the Polish people.

Quote: "Such a symbol requires not only merit, but also respect for the values that form the foundation of our community... Therefore, in view of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's consent to one of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine being named after the Heroes of the UPA, and following consultations with the Chapter, I have decided to strip the president of Ukraine of the Order of the White Eagle."

Details: Nawrocki stressed that the decision is not directed against the Ukrainian people and does not represent a change in the strategic direction of Poland's security policy.

Quote: "We supported and continue to support Ukraine because we know that Russian aggression poses a threat to the security of Poland and all of Europe. Nothing has changed in that assessment. Russia is the aggressor, and Putin is a criminal responsible for unleashing the war that has become Europe's largest armed conflict since the end of the Second World War. Behind every bombed residential district, every child forced to flee the war and every family torn apart by violence stands a decision made in the Kremlin."

Details: Nawrocki stressed that Ukraine has the right to defend its independence and that Poland remains a defender of its sovereignty and territorial integrity. However, he said Poland will consistently defend the memory of its citizens and the dignity of its national symbols and "will not agree to the glorification of those who murdered defenceless Polish civilians".

"Ukraine's path towards European structures also requires a willingness to confront difficult chapters of its own history honestly. A united Europe was built on the rejection of totalitarianism and the cult of violence. These principles must be binding on everyone. Those who do not understand this have no place in the European Union, and Poland certainly will not allow it," the Polish president said.

Nawrocki also stressed that for the overwhelming majority of Polish society, the UPA remains, above all, an organisation responsible for brutal crimes committed against Polish citizens, and that the Polish state's position on the issue has been well known for many years.

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.

Background: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Zelenskyy did not intend to offend Poland by granting a Ukrainian military unit the honorary designation "named after the Heroes of the UPA", but that, in Tusk's view, the Ukrainian side lacks sensitivity on the matter.

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