The alliance is real and necessary, but built on unresolved trauma.
Zelensky returned the Order of the White Eagle after Polish President Nawrocki stripped him of it, citing Ukraine's controversial naming of a unit after the UPA. Poland views the UPA as responsible for killing ~100,000 ethnic Poles in 1943-45, while Ukraine sees them as independence fighters against Soviet and Nazi occupation.
- Zelensky returned Poland's Order of the White Eagle after President Nawrocki stripped him of it
- Ukraine renamed a military unit after the UPA, a WWII resistance group Poland accuses of killing ~100,000 ethnic Poles in 1943-45
- Poland remains Ukraine's main ally, hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees and serving as a logistics hub for Western aid
- Ukraine is in early-stage EU membership negotiations, with Poland as a key member state
Ukraine's President Zelensky returned Poland's highest honor after his counterpart stripped it over Ukraine's renaming of a military unit after WWII fighters Poland accuses of genocide. The diplomatic row threatens allied relations during Russia's war.
The diplomatic row between Ukraine and Poland erupted into the open this week when President Volodymyr Zelensky announced he was returning Poland's highest state honour—the Order of the White Eagle, which had been conferred on him just three years earlier by then-President Andrzej Duda. The decision came after Polish President Karol Nawrocki declared he was stripping Zelensky of the award, a move triggered by Ukraine's recent decision to name a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, a World War Two fighting force that remains one of Europe's most contested historical symbols.
The UPA, which operated during the 1940s and 1950s, occupies radically different places in the national memory of the two countries. In Ukraine, the group is widely celebrated as a resistance movement that fought for independence against three occupiers simultaneously: the Soviet Red Army, Nazi Germany, and Polish authorities. The UPA's red and black flag has become a visible symbol on the front lines of the current war, carried by Ukrainian troops as they defend their territory against Russian invasion. But Poland sees the same organization through an entirely different lens. The Polish government holds the UPA responsible for what it characterizes as genocide—the systematic killing of approximately 100,000 ethnic Poles in the Volhynia region, now part of Ukraine, between 1943 and 1945.
When Kyiv announced the unit's renaming last month, the reaction in Warsaw was swift and sharp. Nawrocki released a video statement calling the decision "outrageous," "incomprehensible," and "deeply disappointing." He framed the move not merely as a historical disagreement but as a wound to Poland's collective memory and, more immediately, as a betrayal of the trust that had been carefully built between the two nations. "For the overwhelming majority of Polish society, the UPA remains, above all, a formation responsible for the brutal crimes committed against citizens of the Republic of Poland during World War Two," Nawrocki said. He added that the decision "hurts not only our historical memory. It also undermines the trust built up over the years and in recent months."
Zelensky's response was to return the honour, a symbolic gesture of defiance but also, perhaps, an attempt to prevent further escalation. In a statement posted on social media, he signalled Ukraine's willingness to engage in dialogue about what he called "difficult and painful chapters of our shared past." He emphasized Ukraine's gratitude for Polish support and cooperation, a careful acknowledgment of the alliance's importance even as the two countries were locked in public disagreement.
Three senior Ukrainian officials followed Zelensky's lead, also returning Polish awards in a show of solidarity with their president. The gesture underscored the depth of feeling in Kyiv about the dispute, but it also risked deepening the rift at a moment when the two countries need each other most. Poland has been Ukraine's most steadfast ally during the Russian invasion, taking in hundreds of thousands of refugees and serving as a crucial logistics hub for Western military and humanitarian aid flowing into Ukraine.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Poland's senior government figure, moved quickly to contain the damage. He posted on social media that any prolonged feud between the two nations would only benefit Vladimir Putin, and he called on both Zelensky and Nawrocki to "calm emotions, not to stoke tensions." Nawrocki himself, despite his strong words about the UPA decision, stressed that the diplomatic row would not affect Poland's military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. The message was clear: the two countries would remain allies, but the historical wound had been reopened, and it would need to be addressed.
The timing of the dispute adds another layer of complexity. Ukraine is in the early stages of EU membership negotiations, having attended the first phase of talks in Luxembourg this week. A serious rift with Poland, a key EU member state, could complicate those ambitions. Both countries face pressure to resolve the disagreement, but the underlying historical questions—how to reckon with the UPA's legacy, how to honor competing national narratives about the same events—remain as intractable as ever.
Notable Quotes
For the overwhelming majority of Polish society, the UPA remains, above all, a formation responsible for the brutal crimes committed against citizens of the Republic of Poland during World War Two.— Polish President Karol Nawrocki
Ukraine would remain open to all meaningful formats of engagement with Poland in order to try to avoid conflicting interpretations of the difficult and painful chapters of our shared past.— President Volodymyr Zelensky
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does renaming a single military unit trigger such a severe diplomatic response? It seems like a symbolic gesture, not a policy change.
Because symbols are how nations tell themselves who they are. For Ukraine, the UPA represents resistance against occupation—a historical claim on independence. For Poland, the same organization represents a specific atrocity. When Ukraine elevates the UPA, Poland hears its own dead being dishonored.
But Poland and Ukraine are fighting the same enemy right now. Doesn't that shared threat override historical grievance?
It should, in theory. And Tusk's intervention suggests the Polish government knows that. But you can't simply ask people to set aside what they believe happened to their ancestors. The alliance is real and necessary, but it's built on top of unresolved trauma.
What does Zelensky gain by returning the award? It seems like he's capitulating.
He's trying to prevent the row from metastasizing. By returning the honour himself, he controls the narrative—he's not being stripped of it, he's making a choice. It's a way of saying: we hear your pain, we're not your enemy. Whether it works depends on whether Poland believes he's serious about dialogue.
Is there any path to resolving this?
Not quickly. Poland wants Ukraine to acknowledge the killings as genocide. Ukraine sees that as accepting a historical interpretation that undermines its own national narrative. Both countries need each other too much to let this break them, but they also can't simply agree to disagree about mass death. It's a knot that won't untie.