Ukrainian foreign minister will return Polish state award after Poland strips Zelenskyy of top honour

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has said he will return a high Polish state award after Polish President Karol Nawrocki decided to strip President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle.

Source: Sybiha on Facebook, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Sybiha described Nawrocki's move as a strategic mistake by the Polish president that would benefit only Moscow.

Quote: "We regret that emotions prevailed in Warsaw and prompted Polish politicians to take unjustified, impulsive and disrespectful steps directed not even at President Zelenskyy, but first and foremost at the Ukrainian state. Against the backdrop of such reckless actions, I see no possibility of continuing to hold the high state award of the Republic of Poland bestowed upon me in October 2022 – the Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. I will return it to Poland shortly."

Details: Sybiha said the issue was not about decorations but about attitude, stressing that Ukraine has always advocated an approach based on mutual respect, even when dealing with difficult and sensitive issues.

Quote: "This means respecting each other's decisions even when we disagree with them. 'Agreeing to disagree', as the saying goes. We never wanted this conflict. Instead, for a year and a half we actively worked to resolve disagreements, depoliticise historical issues, unblock professional and academic cooperation, facilitate search and exhumation work and reburials at Poland's request, and resume the work of the Congress of Historians. We have achieved a great deal along this path. Search operations are currently under way in Huta Pieniacka, as requested by the Polish side."

Details: The minister added that, against this background, the current escalation is counterproductive and unnecessary for both Ukrainians and Poles.

"We regret that instead of seeking solutions, the Polish side chose to escalate the situation to an unacceptable and disproportionate level. No president of another country will dictate our history to us," Sybiha stated.

He expressed hope that cooler heads would eventually prevail and that Poland's friends would return to an equal dialogue consistent with the allied relationship between the two countries in the face of a common enemy in Moscow.

Background:

• On 19 June, Nawrocki decided to strip Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle over the decision to grant one of Ukrainian military units the honorary designation "named after the Heroes of the UPA".
• Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Zelenskyy did not intend to offend Poland by the decision, but that, in Tusk's view, the Ukrainian side lacks sensitivity on the matter.

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