Polish President Karol Nawrocki has revoked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's Order of the White Eagle — Poland's highest state decoration — after Kyiv named a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a World War Two-era nationalist force that Poland holds responsible for the massacre of tens of thousands of its citizens. Nawrocki announced the decision on Friday, describing Ukraine's move as "outrageous," "incomprehensible," and "deeply disappointing," while stressing that the diplomatic row would not affect Poland's military and humanitarian support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
The UPA, which operated primarily in the 1940s and 1950s, is a deeply contested historical symbol. In Ukraine, it is widely honoured as a force that fought for national independence against Soviet forces and Nazi Germany, and its red-and-black flag is commonly seen among Ukrainian troops on the front line today. Zelensky approved the naming of the unit — designated "Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army" — saying it aimed to restore the historical traditions of the national army. In Poland, however, the UPA is primarily associated with the Volhynia massacres of 1943–45, in which an estimated 100,000 ethnic Poles were killed in what is now northwestern Ukraine. Poland's parliament officially recognised the killings as genocide in 2016. Ukraine acknowledges the massacres and has issued formal apologies, but rejects the genocide designation. The two countries resumed joint exhumations of victims in 2025 after years of interruption.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha swiftly condemned Warsaw's decision as "a strategic mistake by the President of Poland, from which only Moscow benefits," and announced he would return an award he personally received from Poland in 2022. "No president of another country will dictate our history to us," he said. Ukraine also expressed regret that Poland had chosen to "escalate this conflict to an unacceptable and inappropriate level, instead of seeking solutions."
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a pro-European figure who has been among Ukraine's most vocal supporters in Warsaw, attempted to ease tensions, warning that the feud "delights" Russian President Vladimir Putin and "shocks our allies." Tusk called on both presidents to "calm emotions, not stoke tensions," and reiterated that Poland's support for Ukraine ultimately serves Polish national interests: "If Ukraine loses this war, Poland will find itself in a dramatically more difficult situation." Nawrocki, who took office in August 2025 and has previously opposed Ukraine's NATO and EU membership bids, was seen as the driving force behind the revocation.
The episode underscores the fragility of what has otherwise been an extraordinary wartime partnership. Poland has hosted millions of Ukrainian refugees since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 and has been one of Kyiv's leading advocates within the European Union. Ukraine, meanwhile, took a significant step this week by attending the first phase of EU membership negotiations in Luxembourg — a process in which Poland plays an influential role. Nawrocki acknowledged this directly, warning that EU accession requires Ukraine to "honestly confront the difficult chapters of its own history." How the two governments resolve — or fail to resolve — the dispute over the UPA's legacy may have consequences well beyond symbolism.