The diplomatic row between Poland and Ukraine over historical grievances has intensified, with current and former Ukrainian officials renouncing honors bestowed by Warsaw. The crisis began after Poland's far-right president, Karol Nawrocki, stripped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest state distinction, in response to Zelenskyy's decision to name a Ukrainian special forces unit after the controversial Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).
Zelenskyy announced on Saturday that he had returned the award, posting a photograph on social media showing the medal being packaged for shipment. “We believed that the Order of the White Eagle, awarded in 2023, was meant for the Ukrainian People and our army,” he wrote, expressing gratitude to the Polish people for their support.
Chain Reaction of Renunciations
Ukraine's foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, was the first to act, declaring he would return the Commander’s Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, received in 2022. He was followed by the head of the Office of the Ukrainian President, Kyrylo Budanov, and Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland, Vasyl Bodnar, who relinquished their Officer’s Crosses of the Order of Merit. Three former Ukrainian presidents—Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Yushchenko, and Petro Poroshenko—also announced they were giving up their Order of the White Eagle honors. Poroshenko stressed the decision was a reaction to Nawrocki's move, not directed against Poles, while Yushchenko called the Polish president's action “irresponsible” and expressed solidarity with Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian army.
Nawrocki has insisted the revocation was “not directed against the Ukrainian people” and that Poland would continue to support Ukraine. Nevertheless, many in Kyiv view the gesture as a direct affront.
Roots of the Dispute
The crisis traces back to 27 May, when Zelenskyy signed a decree naming the Independent Special Operations Centre “North” of Ukraine's Special Operations Forces as the “Heroes of the UPA.” The UPA, formed in 1942 in Volhynia, was a Ukrainian guerrilla force that fought both German and Soviet forces but also carried out massacres of Polish civilians in the region. The decision has inflamed historical sensitivities in Poland, where the UPA is widely condemned. Nawrocki said he learned of the move “with great sadness,” arguing that glorifying the UPA gives Russian propaganda “a lot of oxygen for disinformation.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose government is at odds with Nawrocki, criticized Zelenskyy’s decision but noted that the Ukrainian leader had assured him he did not intend to offend Poles. Tusk called on both nations not to let “history ruin our future.”
Strategic Concerns
Many observers worry that only Russia stands to gain from the breakdown in relations. Poland has been one of Ukraine’s most steadfast allies since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees and serving as a logistical hub for Western aid. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski echoed this view, sharing a commentary by journalist Witold Jurasz who argued that Nawrocki had won a moral victory but suffered a defeat—and with it, so had Poland. Russian officials, who have repeatedly invoked World War II to justify their invasion by claiming it targets “neo-Nazis” in Ukraine, have welcomed Nawrocki’s decision.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Sybiha, who described the Polish president’s move as “a strategic mistake... from which only Russia will benefit,” thanked Poles who oppose escalating tensions. “We are wise nations, always able to find a way out of a difficult situation,” he wrote on X. “We are bound by a difficult history, a shared future, and the threat from our age-old enemy – Moscow.”
The honors war underscores the fragility of even the strongest alliances when historical wounds are reopened. As the EU continues to support Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression, leaders in Brussels and national capitals will be watching closely to see whether Warsaw and Kyiv can contain the damage. For more on the broader context of EU-Ukraine relations, see EU Leaders Ponder Ukraine Strategy as Costa Opens Kremlin Channel.
