EUROPE · 22 Jun 2026 · 16:01 GMT ·2 min read

Poland Revokes Highest Honor from Zelensky Amid World War 2 Memory Dispute

Polish President Karol Nawrocki revoked the Order of the White Eagle from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 19, 2026.

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Polish President Karol Nawrocki revoked the Order of the White Eagle from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 19, 2026. The decision follows Kyiv's move to name a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, a group that carried out massacres of Polish civilians during WW2 but is regarded by many Ukrainians as a national liberation movement. While Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk urged restraint to protect bilateral ties, Nawrocki called the naming a failure to respect historical truth. The move creates diplomatic friction days before the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdansk.

Context

Relations between Poland and Ukraine have frequently faced tension over the interpretation of World War II events, particularly the massacres of Polish civilians by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in the Volhynia region between 1943 and 1945.

Supportive perspectives

President Karol Nawrocki stated that remembering the victims of historical massacres is a moral obligation of the Polish state. Nawrocki emphasized that historical truth cannot be used as a bargaining chip in diplomatic relations.
The Polish presidency noted that Warsaw had repeatedly requested that Kyiv change the name of the military unit before taking the step to revoke the award. Nawrocki clarified that revoking the honor does not signify a reduction in Poland's ongoing support for Ukraine's defense against the Russian invasion.
The Polish government views the naming of the unit as an offensive act that ignores the historical suffering of Polish civilians during the war.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the decision to name the military unit after the UPA as a bad decision.

Critical perspectives

The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga characterized the Polish decision as an unjustified and impulsive act. Sybiga also announced he would return a Polish award he had previously received in response to the move.
Ukrainian officials argued that Nawrocki's decision is a strategic mistake that serves Russian interests, framing the revocation as damaging to the allied front at a moment.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, though he called the Ukrainian unit naming a bad decision, opposed Nawrocki's revocation and urged restraint, warning the diplomatic row could overshadow the Ukraine Recovery Conference that Poland is due to host within days.
Poland has been one of Ukraine's main allies during the Russian invasion, taking in hundreds of thousands of refugees and serving as a logistics hub for Western support. Critics of the revocation warn that symbolic disputes over wartime memory risk fracturing a partnership built on that concrete wartime solidarity.