Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki has revoked Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky’s highest state honour, a move that has intensified tensions between Warsaw and Kyiv just days before an international conference on Ukraine’s reconstruction in Gdansk.
The decision centres on a recent Ukrainian military naming choice that has reignited historical disputes between the two neighbours. Ukraine’s move to name a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a nationalist formation that fought during World War Two, prompted outrage in Poland, where the group is linked to mass killings of Poles during the Volhynia massacres.
Announcing his decision, Nawrocki said Zelensky’s approval of the naming had made it necessary to withdraw the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest civilian decoration. He added that the measure was not aimed at the Ukrainian people and did not signal any shift in Poland’s broader security policy or support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
The Ukrainian president has not yet issued a formal response. However, Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha criticised the move, calling it a “strategic error” and warning against what he described as attempts to interfere in Ukraine’s historical narrative. He stated that Kyiv would not accept external influence over its interpretation of national history.
The dispute has exposed underlying strains in Polish-Ukrainian relations, which have otherwise been marked by strong cooperation since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While Poland remains one of Kyiv’s key allies, domestic sentiment has shifted in recent years due to concerns over refugee flows, agricultural imports, and unresolved historical grievances dating back to the Second World War.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who has often sought to ease tensions with Kyiv, urged both sides to lower political temperature. He warned that internal divisions between Poland and Ukraine could benefit Russia at a time when unity among allies remains critical.
The Order of the White Eagle was awarded to Zelensky in 2023 by then-president Andrzej Duda in recognition of his leadership during the war and his role in strengthening European security. Nawrocki had previously suggested reviewing the award following Ukraine’s decision to honour a military unit referencing the UPA.
The historical legacy of the UPA remains deeply divisive. In Ukraine, some view the group as a symbol of resistance against Soviet and Nazi forces. In Poland, it is associated with the Volhynia massacres of 1943–45, in which an estimated 100,000 Poles were killed, alongside thousands of Ukrainians in retaliatory violence.
As diplomatic exchanges continue, officials on both sides have signalled that the dispute could overshadow upcoming regional discussions, with concerns growing over its potential impact on wider European unity amid the ongoing war.
