“What Mr. Zelenskyy is doing, and in particular naming one of the military units after the heroes of the UPA, is an act of extreme disloyalty also towards the Ukrainian nation. Today, the main beneficiary of efforts to pit the Polish and Ukrainian nations against each other is most likely Moscow. So Mr. Zelenskyy is effectively serving Moscow’s interests through his actions. Mr. Zelenskyy, who remains president only because in the first months of the full-scale war Poland launched a major diplomatic offensive and, through that offensive, forced the world to help Ukraine, even when Russian forces were on the outskirts of Kyiv. Mr. Zelenskyy is president and holds power in Ukraine only because Poland helped him,” said Law and Justice (PiS) politician and candidate for prime minister, Przemysław Czarnek, during a press conference.
President Karol Nawrocki expressed outrage on Friday at Zelenskyy’s decision to name one of the Ukrainian special units after the “Heroes of the UPA”. During a briefing, the President of the Republic of Poland informed journalists that he had submitted a request to the Order of the White Eagle Chapter, which is due to meet on June 8, to revoke Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Order of the White Eagle. He also stressed that the final decision rests with him.
During today’s press conference, Law and Justice (PiS) MP Przemysław Czarnek, the party’s candidate for prime minister, reminded that since the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine, “we have shown great solidarity with our Ukrainian neighbours.”
He said that Poland acted primarily out of its own national interest, explaining that the goal was to prevent Russian tanks from reaching the Polish border in places such as Dorohusk, Hrubieszów and Zosin, which would have posed a direct existential threat. He added that Polish society showed solidarity without questioning the background of those fleeing the war, while recalling that in eastern Poland many families still carry memories of the tragic past connected with the genocide in Volhynia and Eastern Lesser Poland, witnessed by people still alive today.
Czarnek stated that despite this history, Ukrainians were not questioned about their origins or needs when they sought help. He then said that recent developments demonstrate what he described as extreme disloyalty from Zelenskyy, arguing that the Ukrainian president is effectively acting against both Polish and Ukrainian interests. He repeated that naming a Ukrainian military unit after the heroes of the UPA represents, in his view, a hostile act and serves the interests of Moscow, which benefits from tensions between Poles and Ukrainians. He reiterated that Zelenskyy remains in power only because Poland, during the early phase of the full-scale war, mobilised diplomatic efforts that helped secure international support for Ukraine when Russian forces were near Kyiv, adding that “this same Zelenskyy is now delivering a slap in the face to Poland.”
Conditions for cooperation
Czarnek stated that Law and Justice (PiS) is joining President Karol Nawrocki’s request to revoke Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Order of the White Eagle. He demanded that Zelenskyy withdraw what he described as “this absurdly harmful decision, especially harmful to the Ukrainian state and directed against us, the Poles – the decision to name a military unit after the heroes of the UPA”.
He also demanded immediate consent for the exhumation of all Polish victims of wartime massacres in Ukraine, stating that “these are the boundary conditions for Poland’s continued solidarity with Ukraine.” He added that Poland may continue to support Ukraine, but only if these conditions are met, which he said were set by Zelenskyy himself.
“There is no agreement”
Addressing the government of Donald Tusk, Czarnek called for the resumption of work on a bill criminalising the promotion of Bandera ideology in Poland, including penalties and the introduction of the category of “Volhynia denial”, similar to “Auschwitz denial”.
He said the bill had been submitted 1.5 years earlier, had received majority support in its first reading, but was blocked in committee, which he attributed to political instructions from the government. He demanded that the government immediately resume legislative work.
Czarnek also called for steps to enable Polish companies to participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war and questioned how funds from the 185 billion PLN SAFE programme would be allocated.
He concluded by rejecting the idea of political compromise with Kyiv, stating: “We do not want to hear only that Tusk has reached an agreement with Zelenskyy. There is no agreement with a man who has betrayed our friendship and loyalty.” He demanded that financial transfers be suspended until Ukraine meets the stated conditions and called for accelerated work on legislation introducing automatic deportation of foreigners who break Polish law, adding that Poland is open and hospitable, but requires loyalty.