President of Poland strips Zelensky of state honor over UPA glorification

Nawrocki and Zelensky. Photo: Offcie of the President of Poland

Volodymyr Zelensky has been stripped of Poland’s highest state award – the Order of the White Eagle – by decision of Polish President Karol Nawrocki. The decision was announced by the Office of the President of Poland.

The decision was prompted by Zelensky’s Decree No. 440/2026, which granted one of the centers of Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces the honorary title of Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). According to Nawrocki, the move “goes far beyond an internal matter of Ukraine” and affects the historical memory of the Polish people. The Order of the White Eagle was awarded to Zelensky in 2022, following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

“For the overwhelming majority of Polish society, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) remains primarily responsible for the brutal crimes committed against Polish citizens during World War II,” Nawrocki said.

According to him, “the facts are that at least 100,000 Polish citizens were killed by the UPA in Volhynia, Eastern Galicia, Lublin, and Subcarpathia simply because they were Poles, Jews, or members of other minorities. Among the victims were residents of villages and towns, entire families, women, children, and the elderly.”

“These were not soldiers on the battlefield. They were defenseless civilians. They were murdered brutally and cruelly. It should also be noted that the victims have still not received proper burial,” the Polish president said.

Nawrocki also stressed that the glorification of the UPA calls Ukraine’s European prospects into question. “President Zelensky has demonstrated that Ukraine, mentally speaking, in terms of glorifying bandits and murderers from the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, is not ready to be part of the European family,” he said.

“In the European family, one cannot glorify bandits and murderers who killed women and children,” he added.

Nawrocki directly stated that the incident exposed the untenability of the position held by supporters of Ukraine’s accelerated accession to the EU: “This is also proof that those who said Ukraine should join the European Union without any conditions were very wrong.”

At the same time, according to Nawrocki, his position “is not directed against the Ukrainian people” and “does not change the strategic direction of Poland’s security policy.” “Supporting Ukraine in its resistance to Russia and the bandit Vladimir Putin is Poland’s goal,” he stressed.

He also said that “Bandera’s red-and-black flags have no place in Polish public space.”

The Polish president’s words about Ukraine’s unreadiness for EU membership because of the glorification of the UPA amount to a direct threat to block Kyiv’s accession to the European Union. As an EU member state, Poland has veto power on enlargement, and Nawrocki’s position effectively turns the historical issue of Volhynia into an insurmountable obstacle on Ukraine’s path toward European integration.

As the UOJ reported, Serhiy Dumenko said he was proud when members of the OCU were called Banderites.

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