Tusk Urges Poland-Ukraine Talks Over Army Unit Renaming as Zelenskiy Faces Loss of Top Honour
Updated
Updated · Reuters · Jun 8
Tusk Urges Poland-Ukraine Talks Over Army Unit Renaming as Zelenskiy Faces Loss of Top Honour
3 articles · Updated · Reuters · Jun 8
Summary
Donald Tusk on Monday urged direct talks between Polish President Karol Nawrocki and Volodymyr Zelenskiy, warning the row over a renamed Ukrainian army unit was damaging solidarity against Russia.
The dispute erupted after Kyiv last month named a unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which many Ukrainians honor for fighting Moscow and Nazi Germany but which Poland links to the wartime killing of about 100,000 Poles.
A Polish advisory body met Monday on Nawrocki's proposal to strip Zelenskiy of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest honour; Tusk's countersignature would likely be needed if the move goes ahead.
The clash has pushed ties with one of Ukraine's strongest backers to a new low, as souring Polish public sentiment over refugees, grain imports and World War Two memory complicates Kyiv's EU push.