Overview
- Polish President Karol Nawrocki revoked the Order of the White Eagle on Friday after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved a May 26 decree naming a Ukrainian Special Operations unit “Heroes of the UPA.”
- Zelenskyy responded on Saturday by returning the decoration to Poland and posting images of the medal being packed and sent back to the presidential office.
- Senior Ukrainian officials including Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and presidential chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov called the Polish move a strategic error and said they would return Polish honours in protest.
- Both Warsaw and Kyiv insist that military support for Ukraine will continue, but leaders and diplomats warn the row has strained relations, worsened Polish public opinion toward Ukraine and put Zelenskyy’s attendance at the Gdańsk reconstruction conference in doubt.
- The dispute revives a painful World War II memory over the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, has political resonance inside Poland, and observers warn Russia could use the rift to undermine Western unity for Ukraine.