Janusz Reiter: Tusk not signing revocation of Order to Zelenskyy will throw him a lifeline

A dispute over naming a Ukrainian special unit "UPA Heroes" has ignited a fierce political debate in Poland, leading President Andrzej Duda to announce a request to revoke President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Order of the White Eagle. However, the situation is complicated by the fact that most experts believe such a decision requires the prime minister's countersignature, and Prime Minister Donald Tusk has remained silent on the matter.

Bogusław Chrabota, who suggested the Ukrainian president might have set a trap for the Polish prime minister, directly asked former ambassador Janusz Reiter if Tusk should sign the revocation. "I believe he should not," Reiter responded. "I think that in this way, paradoxically, he would help the president a bit, because it will be easier to forget about such a matter if it ends with an unsuccessful attempt to revoke the order, and it will be harder to forget about it if this attempt is successful."

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I believe he should not. I think that in this way, paradoxically, he would help the president a bit, because it will be easier to forget about such a matter if it ends with an unsuccessful attempt to revoke the order, and it will be harder to forget about it if this attempt is successful.

This unexpected conclusion suggests that by not signing the document, the prime minister would be throwing President Duda a lifeline. The president could claim he tried, but the matter would fade without further escalation. Conversely, if the order were revoked, Zelenskyy could present it as an humiliation of the Ukrainian nation, likely leading to reciprocal actions from Kyiv and drawing Poland into a new diplomatic dispute instead of allowing it to focus on geopolitics.

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If someone doesn't understand this immediately, they should look at the map.

Reiter emphasized that while Zelenskyy's decision regarding the unit's name was poor, Poland's response should not be equally dramatic. "If someone doesn't understand this immediately, they should look at the map," he stated. Poland shares a 535-kilometer border with Ukraine, a country aspiring to join the West. Lithuania, with a 102-kilometer border, is the only other Western country bordering Ukraine; the rest is Russia and Belarus, which is strategically part of Russia. The stakes are clear: either Ukraine remains within the Western orbit, with Poland having an ally to its east, or Russia's influence extends to Poland's doorstep. In this context, the dispute over the order is a luxury Poland cannot afford, not out of affection for Zelenskyy, but because national interest is paramount.

Reiter also expressed concern that Poland is not being mentioned among the major players supporting Ukraine, such as France, Britain, and Germany. "Poland should be in this group," he said. "It's not that someone has taken something away from us again, but unfortunately, we are depriving ourselves of it because we are losing sight of the strategic vision of Polish-Ukrainian relations, and instead, we are preoccupied with debating whether Ukrainians are grateful enough." This diagnosis, coming from a former ambassador, highlights a concerning trend of Poland undermining its own strategic position on the international stage.

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Poland should be in this group [of major players supporting Ukraine]. It's not that someone has taken something away from us again, but unfortunately, we are depriving ourselves of it because we are losing sight of the strategic vision of Polish-Ukrainian relations, and instead, we are preoccupied with debating whether Ukrainians are grateful enough.