Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has publicly appealed to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President of Poland Karol Nawrocki with a request for a direct and honest conversation.
"Since diplomacy has yielded no results, I am turning publicly to Presidents @NawrockiKn and @ZelenskyyUa for a direct and honest conversation. Before emotions destroy our solidarity, which was born in the face of the Russian threat. Cooperation serves the interests of both our states and nations, while conflict serves Moscow’s interests. This is surely obvious to all of us," Tusk said on X on Monday.
As reported, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy assigned the honorary title "named after the Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA)" to the Separate Special Operations Center North of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This decision caused outrage in Poland. President of Poland Karol Nawrocki stated that the President of Ukraine, by naming the Ukrainian unit after the Heroes of the UPA," provided Russian propaganda with the best material."
Nawrocki proposed depriving President Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle.
State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland Marcin Bosacki, during a conversation with Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland Vasyl Bodnar on May 28, expressed "deep dissatisfaction" with the decision to award the elite unit of the Special Operations Forces the title of "Heroes of the UPA."
This position was also expressed on May 29 by Chargé d’Affaires of Poland in Kyiv Piotr Lukasiewicz during a conversation with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleksandr Mishchenko.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stated that by initiating the assignment of the honorary title of "Heroes of the UPA" to the Special Operations Forces unit, Ukrainian warriors did not intend to offend the friendly Polish people, and that only Moscow stands to gain from Ukrainian-Polish disputes.
On June 6, Polish Minister of National Defense Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, after a meeting with Head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov, spoke of partnership in security matters, but noted that regarding the historical past "there are limits that cannot be crossed."
