A Polish state body responsible for the country's highest honours met on Monday to discuss a proposal from President Karol Nawrocki to revoke the Order of the White Eagle awarded to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2023.
The move follows Zelensky's renaming of an elite Ukrainian army unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a nationalist force that murdered over 100,000 Polish civilians between 1943 and 1945 in what is now western Ukraine. Poland considers the massacres genocide, while some in Ukraine view the UPA as anti-Nazi and anti-Soviet fighters.
President Nawrocki, a historian who has demanded full exhumation of Polish victims, said Ukraine is not 'ready to become part of the European family' by 'glorifying bandits and murderers'. Adam Leszczyński, director of the Institute of Political Thought, called the proposal 'legitimate' and noted significant support for it.
Exhumations at mass grave sites were halted in 2017 but resumed in April 2025 after a breakthrough. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated the unit's renaming had 'no anti-Polish intent'. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk urged direct talks, warning that 'conflict serves Moscow's interests.'
The honours body has presented its opinion to Nawrocki, who will decide 'in due course', according to his spokesperson.
