Poland revokes Zelenskyy's Order of the White Eagle, sparking Ukrainian criticism

Poland's decision to revoke Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Order of the White Eagle has created a diplomatic rift, with Ukrainian officials warning it plays into Russia's hands. The move, made by President Karol Nawrocki, has been framed by some in Poland as closing a matter that had disturbed public peace for three weeks.

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The order can be revoked by one decree, citing one's own, only correct vision of history. However, it is impossible to cancel the historical truth of our times: it is today that the Ukrainian soldier is holding up the sky above the free world.

However, the article argues that while the decision may satisfy some regarding national honor, it fails to resolve historical issues and instead opens new problems. The revocation could cast a long shadow over Poland's diplomatic, economic, military, and moral standing for months or even years.

Ukrainian officials have strongly criticized the decision. Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk stated that while an order can be revoked by decree based on a particular historical view, the historical truth of the current era, where Ukrainian soldiers are fighting for the freedom of the world, cannot be undone. He emphasized that the Order of the White Eagle, awarded in 2023, was understood to be for the Ukrainian nation and its army.

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strategic mistake by the Polish president, from which only Moscow will benefit.

Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the decision a "strategic mistake" by the Polish president that only benefits Moscow. He suggested that emotions in Warsaw led to impulsive actions targeting not just Zelenskyy but the Ukrainian state itself. From Ukraine's perspective, the revocation is seen as an offense against the soldiers and the nation, not just an individual, undermining Poland's own state interests.

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Emotions took over in Warsaw and led Polish politicians to make (...) impulsive and dismissive actions directed not so much at President Zelenskyy, but primarily at the Ukrainian state.