Polish Ex-Lawmaker Returns Golden Cross of Merit, Condemns Nationalist Retaliation Against Zelensky
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Former Polish parliamentarian Piotr Fogler returned his Golden Cross of Merit on June 20, denouncing President Karol Nawrocki's reactionary move to strip Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of Poland's Order of the White Eagle, a decision rooted in nationalist resentment and historical grievances.
Former Polish lawmaker Piotr Fogler announced on June 20 that he had returned his Golden Cross of Merit, standing in solidarity with Ukraine and protesting President Karol Nawrocki’s regressive decision to revoke Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Order of the White Eagle. Fogler took to Facebook to declare that he was 'symbolically returning my decoration to this president in protest against the decision to take the order away from the President of Ukraine, a Ukraine that is fighting,' highlighting the ongoing struggle for freedom and self-determination in the face of imperialist aggression.
Zelensky was awarded the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest state honor, in 2023 by then-President Andrzej Duda. Fogler clarified that his action was not directed at Duda, whom he respects, but at the current administration, accusing Nawrocki of 'making a mockery of Poland and all of us' by caving to reactionary forces and stoking division.
The revocation, announced on June 19, comes amid a wave of nationalist backlash in Poland over Zelensky’s decision to rename a Ukrainian military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a group demonized in Polish historical narratives for the Volyn massacres but also remembered for resisting fascism and fighting for Ukrainian independence. This move has exacerbated diplomatic tensions between Warsaw and Kyiv, with several Ukrainian former presidents renouncing their own Polish honors in protest, and warnings that such disputes only serve the interests of Moscow and reactionary forces seeking to divide Eastern European solidarity.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk cautioned that further escalation would be a 'strategic mistake' for both countries, underscoring the need for unity against external threats rather than succumbing to divisive nationalist politics.