Mariusz Błaszczak has already returned the Ukrainian Order of Merit. “I attached to the parcel a symbol of remembrance for the victims of the genocide committed by Ukrainian nationalists from the OUN-UPA. Historical truth is not subject to negotiation!” the politician stressed.
On 19 June, President Karol Nawrocki announced that Volodymyr Zelensky would be stripped of the Order of the White Eagle. He justified the decision by referring to the naming of one of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine after the “Heroes of the UPA.” The next day, on Saturday, 20 June, the Ukrainian president stated that he had sent the decoration back to Poland.
After Zelensky was stripped of the Order of the White Eagle, the following Ukrainian officials renounced their Polish state decorations: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov, his deputy Ihor Zhovkva, and Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland, Vasyl Bodnar.
On 25 June, during a press conference, Law and Justice leader Jarosław Kaczyński announced that he would return the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 2nd Class, awarded to him by Ukraine.
“This will be an expression of my attitude, perhaps not so much toward Ukrainians as toward the Ukrainian elites. On the other hand, it is also an act of loyalty toward our president. Such acts of loyalty are needed today,”
he declared.
A day later, Mariusz Błaszczak, deputy leader of Law and Justice, announced a similar decision. In a post on X, he said he was returning the Ukrainian Order of Merit, 1st Class, which he had been awarded in August 2022 by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“I am returning the Order of Merit with which I was decorated by the Ukrainian authorities,”
he wrote on X.
The politician stressed that his decision was “a gesture of solidarity with all the families who have been waiting for decades for the opportunity to pay dignified tribute to their loved ones, and who today still face obstacles.”
Today, Błaszczak announced that he had already sent back his order.
“As I announced, today I sent back the Order of Merit with which I was decorated by the Ukrainian authorities,”
he said.
He added that he had also included in the parcel a symbol of remembrance for the victims of the genocide committed by Ukrainian nationalists from the OUN-UPA.
“Historical truth is not subject to negotiation!”
he declared.