The bad blood between Poland and Ukraine left over from World War II

Poland is contemplating stripping Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of its highest state honor, the Order of the White Eagle, awarded in 2023. This potential revocation follows Zelenskyy's recent decree to name a Ukrainian military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).

The UPA, active during and after World War II, fought for Ukrainian independence, sometimes allying with Nazi Germany against the Soviet Red Army. While Ukraine asserts the naming honors soldiers who fought Moscow and carries no anti-Polish sentiment, the UPA is infamously linked to the Volhynia massacres. Polish historians estimate that between 1943 and 1945, Ukrainian nationalists killed approximately 100,000 ethnic Poles in what Poland considers a genocide.

This historical grievance has resurfaced as a significant point of contention, casting a shadow over the strong bilateral support Poland has provided Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion. Poland has welcomed nearly a million Ukrainian refugees and supplied substantial military aid, yet this historical dispute threatens to complicate current relations.

Polish officials, including President Karol Nawrocki, have voiced outrage, calling for Zelenskyy to be stripped of the award. The decision to name the unit after the UPA has ignited a chorus of condemnation in Warsaw. This dispute highlights the complex and often painful shared history between Poland and Ukraine, a history that continues to weigh on their present-day relationship.