Full Breakdown
Poland Seeks to Strip Zelenskyy of White Eagle
5/31/2026, 4:27:12 AM
Revocation
On 27 May 2026 Zelenskyy named an elite Special Operations Forces unit “Heroes of the UPA”. The next day Polish President Karol Nawrocki proposed stripping Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest honour, at a chapter meeting on 8 June. Nawrocki said the decision “provides Russian propaganda with a lot of oxygen for disinformation” and “hurts our historical sensibilities”.
Background
The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) fought from 1942-1949. Poland links the 1943-1945 Volyn and Eastern Galicia massacres to the UPA, estimating 100,000–120,000 Polish deaths. Ukrainian narratives view the UPA as a resistance movement, with some scholars describing the conflict as two-sided rather than a planned extermination.
Figures
Key actors: President Karol Nawrocki, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Deputy PM Radoslaw Sikorski, President Lech Walesa, and Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi.
Statements
Nawrocki said Zelenskyy’s decree “hurts our historical sensibilities” and urged revoking the Order. The Foreign Ministry lodged a diplomatic protest, summoned Ukraine’s ambassador, and called it “unequivocally negative”. Sikorski warned that “only Putin will gain from a Polish-Ukrainian row over history”. Tusk urged parties to “cool emotions” because “there is only one adversary”. Zelenskyy described the naming as restoring military tradition.
Critique
Former President Lech Walesa removed the Ukrainian flag, calling the UPA “bandits” and saying the honour insults Polish victims. Mayor Sadovyi argued Poland’s wartime aid should not be eclipsed by disputes and urged focus on the joint fight against Russia. Ukrainian scholars call the UPA conflict two-sided, rejecting the genocide label.
Data
UPA active 1942-1949; Polish deaths in UPA-related actions 100,000–120,000; Zelenskyy received Order of the White Eagle on 5 April 2023 from President Andrzej Duda; revocation set for 8 June 2026.
Gaps
Polish sources label the UPA a planned exterminator of Poles; Ukrainian sources describe the period as a two-sided conflict with atrocities. No Zelenskyy response or revocation criteria are provided.
Quotes
- “This is not how relations between nations are built.” — Karol Nawrocki, President of Poland
- “Our task, the task of every sensible person on both sides of the border, is to cool emotions, because we have one enemy.” — Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland
- “By honouring the bandits from the UPA, the President of Ukraine has insulted me and all our compatriots who were murdered.” — Lech Walesa, President of Poland
- “If we quarrel about the past, someone else will impose the future on us.” — Radoslaw Sikorski, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Poland
Next
The Order of the White Eagle chapter will consider revocation on 8 June. Diplomatic channels stay open, with Polish officials urging restraint and Ukrainian authorities defending the naming as a legitimate tribute. The outcome could shape the Poland-Ukraine partnership amid the Russian invasion.
