Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to honor a Ukrainian unit with the name “Heroes of the UPA” has sparked a political storm also in Poland. After Karol Nawrocki announced steps aimed at stripping the Ukrainian president of the Order of the White Eagle, Donald Tusk spoke out, criticizing the idea and calling for care in Polish-Ukrainian relations.
In a decree issued on Wednesday, the head of the Ukrainian state, Volodymyr Zelensky, announced that he had granted the name “Heroes of the UPA” to the Separate Special Operations Center “North” of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He explained that he had done so “in order to restore the historical traditions of the national army and taking into account the exemplary execution of assigned tasks during the defense of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and independence.”
Tusk responds to President Nawrocki’s decision
Today, during a conversation with journalists, President Karol Nawrocki admitted that “the President of Ukraine, by granting a Ukrainian unit the name ‘Heroes of the UPA,’ has provided the best material and a lot of oxygen to Russian propaganda,” assessing Zelensky’s decision “very critically.”
“This is also proof that those who said Ukraine should enter the European Union without any expectations were very wrong. President Zelensky has demonstrated that Ukraine, in terms of mentality and the glorification of bandits and murderers from the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, is not ready to be part of the European family,” he stated.
President Nawrocki announced that on June 8, the Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle will convene. He added: “I have proposed that one of the agenda items be the stripping of the order from the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.”
The Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, commented on the president’s decision in the Sejm during a conversation with journalists.
“Every nation has the right to its own interpretations, but President Zelensky and our Ukrainian friends must be aware of what this grim legacy of the UPA means from the perspective of every Polish woman and every Polish man. From our point of view, this decision is troubling – from the perspective of our relations,” he stated at the outset.
However, he went on to criticize President Nawrocki’s announcement.
“The information that President Nawrocki is responding with a proposal to strip President Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle, which was awarded to him by President Duda, is a similar step. I would very much like the presidents of both countries to wisely ensure that our relations are as good as possible. For Poland and for Ukraine, our friendship, cooperation, and alliance in the face of the Russian threat have been, and remain, something invaluable. We had and still have a chance to overcome those grim parts of our history that have weighed on our relations, but this requires imagination and sensitivity from both sides,” Tusk said.
As he added, “I would expect both presidents to be able to rise above these historical emotions and try to build this difficult but necessary Polish-Ukrainian friendship and cooperation, because without it we will lose each other. If President Zelensky and President Nawrocki become leaders of historical disputes and emotions, then the Kremlin will truly have reason to rejoice.”