In a move that has sent shockwaves through diplomatic circles, Poland has stripped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of a prestigious honorary award, citing his association with a controversial Second World War-era unit. The decision, announced late last night, has drawn an urgent plea for restraint from the United Kingdom, as tensions between the two Eastern European allies threaten to boil over.
The honour in question, the Order of the White Eagle, was bestowed upon Zelensky in 2022 as a symbol of solidarity between Warsaw and Kyiv in the face of Russian aggression. But now, Polish officials claim they have uncovered evidence linking the Ukrainian president to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a paramilitary group formed in 1942 that fought both Nazi and Soviet forces. The UPA has long been a sensitive topic in Poland, where many view it as responsible for massacres of ethnic Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia between 1943 and 1945.
“We cannot in good conscience maintain this honour for someone who tacitly supports a legacy of violence against our people,” said a spokesperson for the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “This is a matter of historical truth and national dignity.”
But critics of the decision argue that the evidence is thin and that Poland is playing into the hands of Russian disinformation campaigns. The UPA connection, they say, is a standard talking point in Moscow’s propaganda machine, designed to sow discord between Ukraine and its neighbours. Indeed, the Kremlin has been quick to applaud Warsaw’s move, with state media framing it as a long-overdue reckoning with Ukraine’s “nationalist past.”
In London, the Foreign Office has urged both sides to de-escalate. A spokesperson described the development as “deeply concerning” and called for “calm heads and open dialogue.” The UK, a staunch supporter of Ukraine’s defence against Russia, fears that a fracture in the Kyiv-Warsaw axis could embolden Putin. “Our message is clear: now is not the time for internal squabbles. The West must remain united,” the spokesperson added.
This is not the first time the UPA has strained relations between the two countries. In 2016, Poland halted commemorations of a Ukrainian nationalist leader linked to the unit, and in 2018, a Polish law criminalising the promotion of “Bandera ideology” sparked a diplomatic row. But the stripping of a president’s honour is unprecedented, and it raises profound questions about how far historical grievances can be reconciled with present-day alliances.
The optics are particularly awkward given Zelensky’s heroic image in the West. The comedian-turned-war-leader has been the face of Ukrainian resistance, his leadership lauded in parliaments from Washington to London. Now, critics in Poland argue that the West has been too willing to overlook Ukraine’s darker historical chapters, including the far-right Azov Battalion, which has been integrated into the National Guard. “If we truly believe in values over geopolitics, we cannot cherry-pick which histories matter,” said a Polish historian consulted by the government.
Yet the timing is odd. With Ukraine still fighting for its survival, and the EU and NATO seeking to deepen ties with Kyiv, Poland’s move seems to many like a self-inflicted wound. Some analysts suggest it may be a domestic political gambit, aimed at shoring up support among nationalist voters ahead of elections. If so, it is a cynical calculation that risks real-world consequences: a few thousand Polish volunteers currently fight alongside Ukrainian forces; a diplomatic freeze could end that cooperation.
For his part, Zelensky has remained silent on the matter, but his office has issued a statement expressing “profound disappointment” and calling the decision “a gift to the aggressor.” The Ukrainian parliament has condemned the Polish action, and there is talk of a reciprocal diplomatic protest.
What happens next depends on whether Poland and Ukraine can manage a reset. The UK’s role as a mediator is untested, but London has the credibility to urge pragmatism. As one diplomat put it: “History is a minefield, but the present has a minefield of its own. We don’t need more explosions.”
The Order of the White Eagle has been stripped before: the Polish government revoked the honour from Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2022 after his invasion of Ukraine. That context makes this gesture all the more jarring. Zelensky, once a figure of unity, now finds himself caught in the crosshairs of a history that will not stay buried. And for a leader fighting a war of national survival, that is a distraction he can ill afford.
