Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has sparked a political storm in Poland after naming a military unit the ‘Heroes of the UPA,’ prompting President Karol Nawrocki to seek the removal of Poland’s highest state honour from the Ukrainian leader.
The controversy centres on the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a nationalist guerrilla force that fought for an independent Ukraine during and after the Second World War. While many Ukrainians regard its members as freedom fighters, Poles remember the organisation primarily for the Volhynia massacres, in which an estimated 100,000 Polish civilians were killed between 1943 and 1945.
Last week, Zelensky granted one of Ukraine’s military units the honorary title ‘Heroes of the UPA,’ saying the decision was intended to restore the historical traditions of Ukraine’s armed forces and recognise the unit’s service in defending the country’s independence and territorial integrity.
The announcement prompted an immediate backlash in Poland.
Nawrocki condemned the decision and announced that he would seek to strip Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest state distinction. The Ukrainian president received the award from former Polish president Andrzej Duda in 2023 in recognition of Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion.
The issue is due to be discussed on June 8 by the Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle. Any decision to revoke the award would require the countersignature of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, placing him at the centre of the dispute if Nawrocki formally proceeds with the request.
Tusk, however, criticised Nawrocki’s response, saying both Zelensky’s decision and the proposal to revoke the award were “concerning.”
“President Nawrocki’s proposal to strip President Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle is just as concerning as [Zelensky’s] original decision,” Tusk said.
The comments prompted criticism from Marcin Przydacz, head of the Presidential Office’s Bureau of International Policy, who accused Tusk of attacking Poland’s president rather than standing with the victims of the Volhynia massacres.
“I am surprised, because most Poles are genuinely outraged by what Zelensky is doing,” Przydacz told Polsat News. “Prime Minister Donald Tusk is justifying it and beginning to attack his own president.”
Przydacz said he could not imagine Tusk blocking the move to revoke the award, arguing that doing so would amount to taking the side of the UPA rather than the Polish victims of its crimes.
Criticism also came from within Tusk’s governing coalition.
Tomasz Siemoniak, the minister responsible for coordinating Poland’s intelligence services, described Zelensky’s decision as a “fatal mistake” that risked damaging relations with Poland.
“The fact that the UPA—a criminal organisation responsible for murdering Poles in Volhynia—is being honoured in any way is absolutely terrible,” Siemoniak told TVN24.
However, Siemoniak stopped short of backing Nawrocki’s proposal, arguing that Poland’s national interest remains in supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia.
“Poland’s interest is a Ukraine that is fighting Russia and defending Europe against Russia,” he said.
Siemoniak added that, ahead of the anniversary of the Volhynia massacres, there was still room for gestures from Zelensky or the Ukrainian government that could help repair the damage caused by the decision.
