Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki, who previously revoked the Order of the White Eagle from Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, triggering a wave of Ukrainian statesmen returning Polish awards, called the situation a "dispute" and stated that it does not concern internal political processes in Poland as Zelenskyy previously suggested, Polish television channel PolSat said on Monday.
"Volodymyr, dear Mr. President, the dispute does not concern the internal affairs of Poland at all. They do not exist because all Poles know and understand how much harm Ukrainian nationalists caused to Poles and Polish children," Nawrocki said, responding to Zelenskyy’s previous statements.
He also emphasized that Ukrainian nationalists allegedly committed crimes on Polish soil and that this is "understood by all patriots." "The dispute concerns the perception of historical issues and the fact that in Poland we do not accept the red-and-black Banderite flag," the Polish president said.
"I cannot imagine a situation in which Polish patriots, and especially the Polish president and the Polish government, will not be together and united in such a situation… President Zelenskyy is wrong," Nawrocki added.
As reported, Zelenskyy sees manifestations of internal political struggle in part of the political processes in Poland, particularly in Nawrocki’s actions, and compared them to the rhetoric of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban regarding the formation of moods of hatred toward Ukrainians. "I see this exclusively as an electoral process that has begun, they will have prime minister elections in ‘27. President Karol is fighting for the prime minister’s seat so that his party wins against Prime Minister Tusk. That is what is happening. Frankly speaking, we have nothing to do with it. This is their internal issue," he said.
On June 19, Nawrocki announced the decision to strip Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle, citing differences regarding historical memory and the attitude toward the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). According to him, for the majority of Polish society, the UPA remains a formation responsible for crimes against citizens of the Republic of Poland during World War II. Nawrocki also expressed disagreement with Zelenskyy’s decision to award the Separate Special Operations Center "North" of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine the honorary name after the Heroes of the UPA.
Following this, the second president of Ukraine (1994-2005) Leonid Kuchma, the third president of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko (2005-2010), and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (1998-2000, 2005-2007) Borys Tarasyuk refused the Polish Order of the White Eagle. A number of current and former statesmen also announced their refusal of a number of Polish state awards.
Zelenskyy stated that the Order of the White Eagle is a symbol of trust of the Polish state and gratitude of the people, and emphasized that Ukraine respects Poland’s contribution to the joint struggle against Russia, but noted that Ukraine will not argue over decisions on awards if similar symbols remain with Catherine the Great, Benito Mussolini, and Gerhard Schroeder. Nawrocki’s chancellery justified this by stating that the first two are already dead, and Schroeder has not committed actions that would prompt the revocation of his award.
