Nawrocki takes White Eagle from Zelenskyy in ill-timed decision

Karol Nawrocki, president of Poland's Institute of National Remembrance, announced the revocation of the Order of the White Eagle awarded to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Nawrocki stated that Poland must remember its history and honor its victims, but the author argues there is no logical connection between these historical arguments and the decision to strip Zelenskyy of the award.

“

We cannot forget our history, abandon memory, or deny dignity to our victims. This is how we understand our duty to those who can no longer speak with their own voice.

The author contends that Nawrocki's decision will not bring Poland closer to commemorating the victims of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). While acknowledging that Zelenskyy's government damaged Polish-Ukrainian relations by naming a military unit after "Heroes of the UPA," the author believes Nawrocki's move, which targets the Ukrainian president directly, will only escalate the dispute. This, in turn, moves Poland further away from properly burying the victims of the UPA's genocide.

“

The decision by Nawrocki, which is a blow to the President of Ukraine himself, only leads to an escalation of the dispute. And it moves us further away from the dignified burial of the victims of the UPA genocide.

Following Nawrocki's announcement, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha returned the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. The author predicts that this dispute will freeze any progress on Polish historians' work at mass grave sites of Polish civilians murdered by the UPA in Volhynia. Instead of fostering reflection on the UPA genocide, Nawrocki's decision appeases voters increasingly hostile to Ukrainians, without resolving the core issue of exhumations and burials.

“

We will hold politicians accountable not for gestures and symbols, but for results. If work on commemorating the victims of the UPA stops, Karol Nawrocki will be to blame.

Internationally, Nawrocki's decision appears ill-timed. It follows Ukraine's significant drone attack on Moscow, which targeted refineries and disrupted fuel supply chains. Poland's response, perceived externally as punishing Zelenskyy after this successful operation, is likely to be seen as incomprehensible. Nawrocki's insistence that Russia remains the common enemy will do little to alter this perception.

“

From the outside, this will be an incomprehensible gesture. And no amount of Nawrocki's insistence that our common enemy is Russia and nothing else will change that.