Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has criticized President Karol Nawrocki’s decision to revoke the Order of the White Eagle from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Our response was also disproportionate because it personally humiliated the President of Ukraine. If President Nawrocki had asked me, I would have advised him differently,” Sikorski said.
Former head of Poland’s National Security Bureau (BBN), Prof. Sławomir Cenckiewicz, responded sharply:
“Sikorski was already decorating Russians after the Smolensk disaster in cooperation with the Foreign Ministry and Bronisław Komorowski. Thanks, but no thanks for this advice.”
A week ago, President Karol Nawrocki decided to revoke the Order of the White Eagle—the highest Polish state decoration—from President Volodymyr Zelensky. The honor had been awarded to Zelensky in 2023.
“In view of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s acceptance of naming one of the Ukrainian Armed Forces units after the ‘Heroes of the UPA,’ and following consultations with the Chapter of the Order, I have decided to revoke the Order of the White Eagle from the President of Ukraine. I wish to emphasize that this decision is not directed against the Ukrainian nation. Nor does it signify a change in the strategic direction of Poland’s security policy,” the Polish president announced.
The Ukrainian side reacted very negatively to the decision. The following day, Zelensky returned the decoration to Poland by courier. Several current and former Ukrainian state officials also renounced Polish honors they had previously received. Ukrainian officials argued that President Nawrocki’s decision dealt a serious blow to Polish-Ukrainian relations.
Their criticism was echoed by politicians from Poland’s governing coalition, many of whom publicly voiced opinions contrary to those of President Nawrocki and openly criticized his decision.
Sikorski’s Advice
Speaking on TVN24 on Friday, Foreign Minister Sikorski argued that both President Zelensky and Ukraine’s Institute of National Remembrance should reconsider the naming of the military unit and replace the reference to the “Heroes of the UPA” with, for example, “a specific hero who fought against the Soviet occupation.”
He added:
“Our response was also disproportionate because it personally humiliated the President of Ukraine. If President Nawrocki had asked me, I would have advised something different. An equivalent response would have been, for example, naming the airport in Jasionka after the victims of the UPA. Then the matter would have been settled. Instead, President Nawrocki has essentially deprived himself of the possibility of maintaining dialogue with the president of an important country that is fighting a war.”
“A Wonderful Idea…”
Sikorski’s remarks quickly sparked reactions from politicians and commentators.
Former National Security Bureau chief Prof. Sławomir Cenckiewicz wrote:
“Sikorski was already awarding decorations to Russians after the Smolensk disaster in cooperation with the Foreign Ministry and Komorowski. Thanks for the advice.”
Law and Justice (PiS) Member of the European Parliament Tobiasz Bocheński commented:
“If only this government cared even one percent as much about the patients of Warsaw’s Southern Hospital as it does about Zelensky’s feelings…”
Journalist Krzysztof Karnkowski added:
“As an apology, why not rename Warsaw’s Southern Hospital after the Heroes of the UPA?”
Deputy Head of the Chancellery of the President, Jarosław Dębowski, mocked Sikorski’s proposal to rename Jasionka Airport.
“Wonderful idea. Jasionka Airport is already named after the Ulma Family,” Dębowski wrote on social media.
Social Media Analysis
According to an analysis by Res Futura, the debate surrounding President Nawrocki’s decision to revoke Zelensky’s Order of the White Eagle generated approximately 120 million social media impressions in Poland.
The study found that 74 percent of Polish social media users commenting on the issue supported the president’s decision, while nearly one in four expressed criticism of the move.