“The president has not backed down from anything. We are currently waiting for a response from the Ukrainian side, which – speaking colloquially – has stirred things up with this very negative decision to name a military unit after the ‘UPA heroes’,” said Adam Andruszkiewicz when asked about Karol Nawrocki’s decision regarding the possible revocation of the Order of the White Eagle from Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The discussion about stripping Zelenskyy of Poland’s highest state decoration erupted after, at the end of May, the Ukrainian president named one of the military units “UPA Heroes.” On June 8, the Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle convened, tasked among other things with issuing a recommendation in response to the position of President Karol Nawrocki.
So far, only the President of Poland himself has reviewed the body’s opinion, and he is expected to announce his decision soon. The presidential spokesperson, Rafał Leśkiewicz, emphasized that the Polish leader is still waiting for a possible change regarding the unit’s patron.
Adam Andruszkiewicz, Deputy Head of the Presidential Chancellery, was also asked about the matter.
“The president has not backed down from anything. We are currently waiting for a response from the Ukrainian side, which – speaking colloquially – has stirred things up with this very negative decision to name a military unit after the ‘UPA heroes’,” Andruszkiewicz explained. He stressed that the Ukrainian side “knows our position on this matter.”
“The president personally conveyed it through our administration. We have given the Ukrainian side a short time to respond. We are waiting to see whether such a response will come,” he said on Polsat News. He added that if there is no response from Kyiv, “an appropriate decision by the president will follow immediately.”
“That is clear, that is politics,” he concluded.