Polish FM calls Zelensky honor revocation 'inappropriate'

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski stated on June 26 that President Karol Nawrocki's decision to strip Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of Poland's Order of the White Eagle was an inappropriate response to a recent diplomatic dispute.

Speaking in an interview with TVN24, Sikorski described the reaction as "inappropriate, because it humiliated the president of Ukraine personally." He indicated that he would have recommended a different course of action, such as renaming Jasionka Airport after victims of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), had he been consulted. Sikorski also suggested that Zelensky should have been more mindful of Poland's historical sensitivities when approving the name of a Ukrainian Special Operations Forces unit that honored the UPA, noting its role in killing Poles during its fight against Soviet rule.

Nawrocki revoked Zelensky's highest state honor on June 19 amid public outcry over the military unit's name. The UPA, active during World War II, is remembered in Poland largely for the Volyn massacres, which resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Polish civilians. This decision triggered a diplomatic rift, leading several senior Ukrainian officials to return Polish state honors in protest.

Sikorski argued that Nawrocki's action hindered dialogue with Ukraine, a crucial ally currently engaged in war. Zelensky had received the Order of the White Eagle in 2023 from then-President Andrzej Duda. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk urged restraint, calling the ongoing involvement of Polish and Ukrainian politicians in the controversy a "strategic mistake" detrimental to both nations.