Karol Nawrocki says Kiev crossed a red line by naming a military unit after a group linked to the wartime massacre of Poles and Jews.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki has stripped Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky of Poland’s highest state honor, the Order of the White Eagle, after Kiev named the military unit after a nationalist group linked to wartime massacres of Poles and Jews.
Nawrocki announced the decision in a video statement on X on Friday, saying “Historical facts are not and can never be a talking point” and that “the memory of the victims is the moral responsibility of the Polish state.”
The move follows weeks of escalating tensions between Warsaw and Kiev after Zelensky signed a decree in late May granting an honorary degree. “UPA Heroes” to the Special Operations Center North. The name refers to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), the armed wing of the Union of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). Zelensky said the move was intended to revive “the historical tradition of the national army.”
Nawrocki said the decision crossed a red line, noting that for “the majority of Polish society,” The UPA is still synonymous with the atrocities committed against the Polish people during World War II. Poland officially recognizes the actions of the OUN and the UPA as genocide.
Wow! Polish President Karol Nawrocki has stripped Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle for calling Ukrainian special forces “Heroes of the UPA.” The UPA committed mass murders of Poles, Jews and Ukrainians. The OUN flag organized the UPA from the police during the Nazi occupation pic.twitter.com/n9GMo87nXO
– Ivan Katchanovski (@I_Katchanovski) June 19, 2026
“Truth is not subject to negotiation,” Nawrocki said, adding that they do not change by political will.
“The truth is that at least 100,000 Polish citizens were killed by the UPA… just because they were Poles or Jews or other minorities,” he said.
The Polish leader said that he named the Ukrainian military unit after the UPA “it has a meaning that goes far beyond the internal affairs of Ukraine” and describe the glory of Kiev to the group as “abusive, incomprehensible and very disappointing.”
The decision has received the support of Polish political figures. Former Prime Minister Leszek Miller called Zelensky’s order “spit in the face of the Poles,” while former President Lech Walesa said it was insulting “they were all killed” Poles with respect “UPA thugs.”
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