President of Poland stripped Zelensky of an order over the glorification of the UPA
Karol Nawrocki stated that naming a Ukrainian Armed Forces unit after the UPA goes beyond Ukraine's internal affairs.
Volodymyr Zelensky has been stripped of Poland's highest state award — the Order of the White Eagle — by decision of the country's president, Karol Nawrocki. This was reported by the press service of the President of Poland.
The reason for the decision was Zelensky's decree No. 440/2026, by which one of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' special operations centers was granted an honorary name in honor of the Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). According to Nawrocki, this decision "goes far beyond Ukraine's internal affairs" and affects the historical memory of the Polish people. The Order of the White Eagle was awarded to Zelensky in 2022 against the backdrop of the beginning 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 stated.
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 a battlefield. These were defenseless civilians. They were brutally and cruelly murdered. It should also be noted that to this day the victims have not received a proper burial," the President of Poland stated.
Nawrocki also emphasized that the glorification of the UPA calls into question Ukraine's European prospects. "President Zelensky has proven that Ukraine, in a mental sense — in terms of glorifying the bandits and murderers of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army — is not ready to be part of the European family," the president declared.
"In the European family, one cannot glorify bandits and murderers who killed women and children," he added.
Nawrocki directly pointed out that this incident exposed the untenable position of those who advocate 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 much mistaken."
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 emphasized.
He also stated 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 due to 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 holds veto power on the question of the Union's 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 Union of Orthodox Journalists reported, Serhiy Dumenko stated that he is proud when members of the OCU are called Banderites.
