‘Ideologies accountable for genocide’: Poland strips Zelenskyy of highest honour over military unit naming
Polish President Karol Nawrocki has stripped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest honour, over Kyiv’s resolution to call a navy unit after the Ukrainian Rebel Military (UPA), nationalists who massacred Poles throughout World Battle Two.“I’ve determined to revoke the Order of the White Eagle from the President of Ukraine,” Nawrocki declared in a press release.“We should not betray the sacrifices of our ancestors with silence. These are graves that should not be forgotten. These are the injuries of historical past that demand reality, remembrance, and respect.”Nawrocki stated the choice got here after consulting with the Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle. “In mild of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s consent to call one of many items of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ‘Heroes of the UPA,’ … I’ve determined to revoke the Order of the White Eagle.”He emphasised that “this resolution isn’t directed in opposition to the Ukrainian individuals” and “doesn’t signify a change within the strategic route of Polish safety coverage.”
Why the UPA is controversial
“For the overwhelming majority of Polish society, the UPA stays, above all, a formation accountable for the brutal crimes dedicated in opposition to residents of the Republic of Poland throughout World Battle II,” Nawrocki stated. “Details aren’t topic to negotiation; they don’t change with political circumstances or requirements. The info are that a minimum of 100,000 Polish residents have been murdered by the UPA.”“They weren’t troopers on the battlefield. They have been defenceless civilians. They have been murdered brutally and savagely,” he added.Poland has formally recognised the massacres as genocide. Ukraine rejects that label and argues the massacres occurred within the context of long-standing anti-Ukrainian insurance policies by the prewar Polish state.Nawrocki cited latest progress in Polish-Ukrainian relations, together with the return of St Nicholas Church in Kyiv and permission to exhume Polish victims in a number of places. “All these actions supplied grounds for believing that Poland and Ukraine are steadily discovering a path towards lasting reconciliation,” he stated. “That’s the reason the Ukrainian authorities’ resolution to glorify the UPA isn’t solely outrageous. It’s also incomprehensible and deeply disappointing.”
Ukraine hits again, Tusk urges calm
Ukrainian overseas minister Andrii Sybiha known as the choice “a strategic mistake from which solely Moscow advantages.”Zelenskyy’s chief of workers, Andriy Yermak, stated on Saturday he was renouncing a Polish state medal he had acquired, in solidarity along with his president.Nawrocki stated the UPA situation was significantly delicate as a result of “the Polish navy has educated 1000’s of Ukrainian troopers. We can’t stay detached in the present day to the truth that a few of them will now serve underneath the banner of the UPA. That is unacceptable to us.”Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a political opponent of Nawrocki, wrote on social media: “The battle between Poland and Ukraine delights Putin and shocks our allies. The duty of Presidents Zelenskyy and Nawrocki is to calm feelings, to not stoke tensions. The entrance line runs elsewhere.”Nawrocki addressed EU aspirations: “Ukraine’s path towards European buildings additionally requires a willingness to truthfully confront the troublesome chapters of its personal historical past. A united Europe was constructed on the rejection of totalitarianism and the cult of violence. These rules should apply to everybody. For many who don’t perceive this, there may be no place within the European Union, and Poland will definitely not permit it.“The Order of the White Eagle was awarded to Zelenskyy in 2023 by former President Andrzej Duda. Nawrocki stated: “The Order of the White Eagle is not only an abnormal award. It’s a image of the Republic of Poland’s highest belief. It signifies a particular bond with the Polish state and the nation’s profound gratitude.”The choice comes days earlier than Zelenskyy is because of go to Poland for the Ukraine Restoration Convention in Gdańsk.
