Poland and Ukraine Clash Over WWII Commemoration As Diplomatic Row Deepens

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that Warsaw and Kyiv are making a "strategic mistake" as a political conflict over World War II-era massacres escalates, risking severe geopolitical, business, and reputational costs.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky countered on Monday that Poland cannot be protected without Ukraine, and defended his military units' right to choose their own names.

Zelensky called on Polish President Karol Nawrocki to visit Ukraine to hold direct talks and resolve mounting bilateral tensions.

The Honors Dispute

The diplomatic row intensified after Nawrocki stripped Zelensky of Poland's highest state honor, the Order of the White Eagle.

The hard-right Polish president cited Zelensky's decision to name an Armed Forces of Ukraine unit after the World War II-era Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).

Poland holds the nationalist UPA responsible for the 1943–1945 massacres in the Volhynia region, where an estimated 100,000 Poles were killed.

The parliament in Warsaw has formally designated these killings as genocide.

Zelensky responded by returning the decoration to the Polish presidential chancellery via an ordinary post office.

He noted that if the honor could remain with historical figures such as Catherine the Great, Mussolini, and Gerhard Schröder, Ukraine would not object to its revocation.

Mass Relinquishment of Awards

The dispute triggered an immediate wave of solidarity within the Ukrainian government. Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga, presidential aide Kyrylo Budanov, and Ambassador to Warsaw Vasyl Bodnar all announced they would return their respective Polish state decorations.

Three former Ukrainian presidents and several top officials also confirmed they would relinquish the Polish awards they had previously received.

Budanov stated that the diplomatic rift is a gift to the Moscow aggressor, who will use it against both nations.

Nawrocki maintained that historical truth is not a bargaining chip and described Kyiv's glorification of the UPA as deeply disappointing.

Tusk, a domestic political rival of Nawrocki, criticized the naming of the unit but noted that Zelensky had reassured him there was no intention to offend Poles.

Strategic Fallout for the Alliance

The friction threatens to disrupt the upcoming Ukraine Recovery Conference, an annual postwar reconstruction summit scheduled to begin next Thursday in the Baltic port city of Gdansk.

Zelensky's attendance at the conference, which Poland has spent weeks preparing, remains uncertain.

Poland has served as the primary logistical hub for Western military assistance to Ukraine and the initial destination for millions of refugees since the 2022 invasion.

However, public sentiment toward Ukraine has soured in Poland, amid a recent string of anti-Ukrainian incidents.

Zelensky emphasized that radicalizing society for political gains could end in a highly dangerous escalation.

He recalled that former Polish President Andrzej Duda had explicitly presented the award to the Ukrainian people, making its revocation a step against the Ukrainian nation and its army.