“If Ukraine does not take into account Poland’s historical sensitivities regarding the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), it does not have the dignity for the Order of the White Eagle to remain in the possession of the Ukrainian side,” said presidential minister Marcin Przydacz. He also assessed that Ukraine “must be aware that it will not enter the EU with Bandera”.
“Anyone who does not respect Polish history…”
At the end of May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he had named the Separate Center for Special Operations “North” of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine after the “Heroes of the UPA”. This decision triggered a wave of criticism in Poland. On the initiative of President Karol Nawrocki, one of the items of the Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle convened on June 8 was the possibility of revoking this decoration from the Ukrainian president. The Chapter presented its opinion on the matter to Karol Nawrocki, who attended its proceedings. Representatives of the Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle later stated that the president would make a decision on the matter “at an appropriate time”.
On Friday, in an interview with Polsat News, the head of the Presidential Bureau of International Policy, Marcin Przydacz, was asked about the possible revocation of the Order of the White Eagle from the President of Ukraine. The minister recalled that the Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle had convened, that the procedure is ongoing, that an appropriate opinion has been issued, and that the president ultimately makes the decision at the appropriate time.
According to Przydacz, “the ball is in the Ukrainian court”. He also stressed that he remains “in contact with the Ukrainian side”.
“If the Ukrainian side does not take into account Polish sensitivity in the historical context, in relation to the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), the Volhynia genocide, then there is no dignity for the Order of the White Eagle to remain in the possession of the Ukrainian side,” the minister assessed.
Przydacz stressed that the Order of the White Eagle is Poland’s highest state decoration. “If someone does not respect Polish history in such a fundamental matter, then unfortunately very far-reaching decisions will have to be made,” he noted.
When asked whether the issue of the Volhynia crimes should be linked to Ukraine’s membership in the European Union, the minister replied: “We link the issue of Ukraine’s presence, or its desire for integration with the European Union, with a range of different matters. And Ukraine must be aware that it will not enter the European Union with Bandera. And without the sympathy of Poland and Poles, it will not enter the European Union either,” he stressed.