President Karol Nawrocki has decided to strip Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle. The decision was made after consultation with the Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle. Politicians from Civic Platform (PO) are criticizing the president and sharing a post by Vladimir Putin’s associate, Dmitry Medvedev. Radosław Sikorski has done the same, despite having eagerly cooperated with Russian politicians in the past. The post targeting the president was addressed by presidential minister Marcin Przydacz. “Does such a figure have the moral right to criticize the President of the Republic of Poland today?” the politician asks.
President of the Republic of Poland Karol Nawrocki announced on June 19, 2026, the decision to revoke the Order of the White Eagle – Poland’s highest state decoration – from Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He justified the move by pointing to the Ukrainian authorities’ consent to name one of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine after the “Heroes of the UPA,” considering it an action that undermines the memory of victims of crimes against Poles and the process of Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation.
The president also emphasized that the decision is not directed against the Ukrainian nation and does not signify any change in Poland’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty. The decision was made after consultation with the Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle.
The president’s decision did not sit well with politicians from Civic Platform (PO), who are unanimously sharing a post by Putin’s associate, Dmitry Medvedev. Among them is also Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, who during previous governments of his party was eager to cooperate with Russia.
A response from the Presidential Palace came quickly. The Head of the International Policy Bureau of the President of the Republic of Poland, Marcin Przydacz, questioned whether Sikorski has the moral right to criticize Karol Nawrocki.
“He once knocked on the Kremlin’s gates, invited his Russian colleague to closed meetings of Polish ambassadors, smoked cigarettes with him on the balcony, ‘negotiated’ a few extra months in power for Yanukovych – who was driven out by the Maidan the very next day – praised Nord Stream II and wanted to join it, pushed Americans out, and paid a Berlin tribute to Germany,” Przydacz wrote on the X platform.
“He was wrong about everything or acted against Poland’s interests. Driven by the complexes of some compatriots, he pursued self-promotion instead of conducting the state’s foreign policy,” he continued, listing Sikorski’s “achievements.”
“Does such a figure have the moral right to criticize the President of the Republic of Poland today and speak on matters important to Poland?” the presidential minister asks.