Sikorski Rebukes Revocation of Zelensky's 2023 White Eagle Honor as Poland-Ukraine Rift Deepens
Updated
Updated · Kyiv Independent · Jun 26
Sikorski Rebukes Revocation of Zelensky's 2023 White Eagle Honor as Poland-Ukraine Rift Deepens
3 articles · Updated · Kyiv Independent · Jun 26
Summary
Radoslaw Sikorski said President Karol Nawrocki's June 19 decision to strip Volodymyr Zelensky of Poland's highest state honor was inappropriate because it personally humiliated Ukraine's president.
The rebuke followed Zelensky's approval of a Ukrainian special forces unit name honoring the UPA, a World War II force tied in Polish memory to the Volyn massacres that killed tens of thousands of civilians.
Sikorski said Zelensky should have considered Poland's historical sensitivities, but argued Warsaw should have chosen a different response—such as renaming Jasionka Airport after UPA victims—instead of revoking the award.
The move has already widened the diplomatic dispute, with senior Ukrainian officials returning Polish state honors in protest and Sikorski warning it undercut dialogue with a wartime neighbor.
Donald Tusk also urged both sides not to escalate, calling the continuing honors row a strategic mistake that could damage Polish-Ukrainian relations.