Poland's President revokes country's highest award from Zelenskyy amid historical dispute

Polish President Andrzej Duda has withdrawn the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest state decoration, from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The decision, announced Friday evening in a video message, follows a dispute concerning historical interpretations of World War II.

The Ukrainian government swiftly denounced the move, labeling it a "strategic mistake" and "disrespectful." This action comes at a time when Poland has been one of Ukraine's most crucial military and humanitarian allies in its defense against Russia.

The diplomatic rift was triggered in late May when Zelenskyy named a Ukrainian army unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). This organization was responsible for massacres of Poles in Volhynia during World War II. Between 1943 and 1945, UPA members are estimated to have killed up to 100,000 ethnic Poles in the Volhynia region, which was part of Poland until 1939.

The UPA operated as the military wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) in the 1940s. During World War II, elements of the OUN and UPA collaborated with Nazi Germany in their fight for Ukrainian independence from the Soviet Union. Today, members of the OUN and UPA are revered as heroes in Ukraine.

Disagreements over the Volhynia massacre had already caused diplomatic friction between Kyiv and Warsaw in 2024, highlighting the sensitive nature of historical memory in bilateral relations.