Poland Defends National Honor, Strips Zelenskyy of Award Over Glorification of Anti-Polish Militants
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Poland has revoked its highest honor from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after he named a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, notorious for massacring Poles during WWII. The move underscores Poland’s refusal to tolerate the glorification of historical enemies and raises questions about Ukraine’s readiness for European integration.
In a decisive move to defend national dignity and historical truth, Poland’s president has stripped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the country’s top honor. The action follows Zelenskyy’s approval of naming a Ukrainian military unit after the World War II-era Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a group infamous for its campaign of mass murder against Polish civilians in Volhynia between 1943 and 1945. President Karol Nawrocki’s decision sends a clear message that Poland will not accept the glorification of those who committed atrocities against its people.
Zelenskyy, who conspicuously avoided a wartime conference in Poland, attempted to downplay the incident by claiming that Ukraine and Poland remain “partners and friends” due to shared interests. He further justified the controversial naming by stating that Ukrainian soldiers wanted to honor what they consider resistance fighters, disregarding the UPA’s bloody legacy against Poles.
Polish officials have emphasized that while military aid and support for Ukraine’s EU bid will continue for now, true partnership demands that Ukraine confront its own history honestly. Poland has made it clear that whitewashing or celebrating anti-Polish militants is incompatible with European values and integration.
Ukrainian lawmaker Mykola Kniazhytskyi warned that alienating Poland could create logistical problems for Kyiv, which relies on Poland as a key route for Western arms. This demonstrates how Ukraine’s refusal to acknowledge its past can threaten its own security and alliances.
Historian Zbigniew Wojnowski described the UPA’s actions as “very brutal ethnic cleansing,” yet Ukraine’s official institutions, such as the Institute of National Remembrance, continue to downplay these crimes, referring to them as a “tragic page” rather than a massacre. This ongoing historical revisionism raises serious doubts about Ukraine’s readiness to join the European community.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has called for calm, while the European Commission’s spokesperson Paula Pinho warned that the dispute could play into Russia’s hands. Russian officials, including Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, have seized on the controversy to accuse Ukraine of glorifying Nazis—a charge that, while often used as propaganda, is fueled by Ukraine’s own actions in this case.