Kyiv, June 21: Poland has withdrawn its highest civilian honour previously awarded to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki made the decision to revoke the “Order of the White Eagle,” the country’s top civilian award, from Zelensky. The move has triggered a strong reaction from Ukraine.
President Nawrocki announced on Friday that the honour would be officially withdrawn.
The decision follows Zelensky’s move to name a Ukrainian military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a step that Poland strongly opposed.
Ukrainian officials said the move only benefits Russia, which they accuse of trying to deepen divisions between Ukraine and its allies.
The award had been presented to Zelensky in 2023 by former Polish President Andrzej Duda in recognition of his role in Ukraine’s security, human rights protection, and resistance against Russia.
The controversy stems mainly from a decree issued in May, under which Zelensky named a Ukrainian special military unit after the UPA.
The UPA was a nationalist armed group active in the 1940s and 1950s, which was accused of killing thousands of Polish civilians during World War II, making it a highly sensitive historical issue between the two countries.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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