Karol Nawrocki commented on Volodymyr Zelensky’s remarks, in which the Ukrainian president claimed that the controversy surrounding the withdrawal of the Order of the White Eagle was part of Poland’s internal political struggle. The President of the Republic of Poland firmly rejected this interpretation, arguing that the source of the dispute lies in historical issues and in the assessment of actions by Ukrainian nationalists.
On Friday, President Karol Nawrocki decided to withdraw the highest Polish state decoration from the President of Ukraine. This was a response to Volodymyr Zelensky naming one of the Ukrainian military units “Heroes of the UPA”. The Ukrainian side reacted with outrage – Zelensky returned the order via a courier company, and following him, Ukrainian officials also relinquished Polish state decorations, including Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and former Ukrainian presidents.
As a reminder, in an interview with the Ukrainian television channel TSN, Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the decision regarding the Order of the White Eagle was linked to the political situation in Poland.
“I see this exclusively as an electoral process. President Karol Nawrocki is fighting for the position of his party against Prime Minister Donald Tusk. We have nothing to do with it, it is their internal matter”, he said.
According to Zelensky, the issue does not concern Polish-Ukrainian relations but is the result of a domestic political dispute.
Nawrocki: “This is a matter of history, not politics”
Karol Nawrocki responded to these remarks a few hours later. The President stressed that he disagrees with the interpretation presented by his Ukrainian counterpart.
“The dispute does not concern Poland’s internal politics. All patriots understand how many crimes Ukrainian nationalists committed on Polish lands. How dramatic those moments were”, he said.
As he emphasized, the source of the disagreement remains the way historical events are perceived.
“The dispute concerns the perception of historical issues and the fact that in Poland we do not accept the red-and-black Bandera flag”, he added.
Direct address to Zelensky
Nawrocki also argued that in matters concerning the assessment of crimes committed by Ukrainian nationalists, the Polish political class should remain united.
“I cannot imagine a situation in which Polish patriots, and especially the Polish president and the Polish government, are not together and are not united in such a situation”, he said.
He then addressed the President of Ukraine directly.
“Volodymyr, dear Mr President, the dispute does not concern Poland’s internal affairs at all. These do not exist, because all Poles know and understand how much harm Ukrainian nationalists did to Poles and Polish children. President Zelensky is mistaken, thank you”, said Karol Nawrocki.