Ukraine FM refuses Polish award after Zelenskyy stripped of top honor

Ukraine's Foreign Minister has refused a state order from Poland, citing the country's decision to strip President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of its highest honor, the Order of the White Eagle. The minister, Dmytro Kuleba, described Poland's move as a "strategic mistake" that would only benefit Moscow.

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The decision to strip President of Ukraine of the Order of the White Eagle is a strategic mistake by the President of Poland, from which only Moscow will benefit.

In a statement on Facebook, Kuleba expressed regret over what he termed "impulsive and dismissive steps" taken by Polish politicians, emphasizing that Ukraine had not sought such a conflict. He stated that in light of these actions, he could not retain the state award, which was granted to him in October 2022, and would soon return it to Poland.

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We regret that emotions prevailed in Warsaw and forced Polish politicians to take unjustified, impulsive and dismissive steps towards not even President Zelenskyy, but primarily the Ukrainian state... We never wanted this conflict.

The diplomatic spat was triggered by President Zelenskyy's decision to name a unit of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). This move ignited strong opposition in Poland, where the UPA is widely associated with the mass killings of Poles in Volhynia during World War II. Polish President Andrzej Duda cited Zelenskyy's consent to name the unit after the UPA as the reason for revoking the Order of the White Eagle.

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In light of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's consent to name one of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine 'Heroes of UPA', I made the decision to deprive the President of Ukraine of the Order of the White Eagle.