Deputy Speaker of the Senate of Poland Michał Kamiński decided to return two state awards to Ukraine due to the decision of Volodymyr Zelensky, other Ukrainian presidents, and other officials to return Polish awards.
An official stated that he accepted the awards as a symbol of shared values between the two countries. However, Kamiński notes that he cannot keep them, as "the highest authorities of Ukraine and a significant part of its political elite have still not dared to unequivocally condemn the perpetrators of the Volhynia tragedy and the mass killings of Polish citizens."
The situation is changing rapidly, the flow of returned awards is increasing, but at the moment, the following cases of "returns" are known.
After Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped Volodymyr Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle, former Ukrainian presidents Petro Poroshenko, Leonid Kuchma, and Viktor Yushchenko promptly decided to return their similar orders.
At the same time, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sibiga, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov (Golden Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit to the Republic of Poland), the Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland Vasyl Bodnar, and the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva (Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit to the Republic of Poland) announced their refusal of Polish awards.
Poles Did Not Stay Indifferent
In addition to the aforementioned Deputy Speaker of the Senate of Poland Michał Kamiński, Bartosz Cichocki can be noted. This former ambassador of Poland to Ukraine returned the Ukrainian Order of Merit II degree, received in 2022.
Moreover, the mayors of the Polish cities of Chełm and Przemyśl declared their intention to refuse the honorary titles of "City-Savior of Ukraine."
Why Awards Are Being Taken Back / Returned
Volodymyr Zelensky was stripped of Poland's highest state award — the Order of the White Eagle — by the decision of Polish President Karol Nawrocki. The official reason was the decision of the Ukrainian authorities to assign the honorary title of "Heroes of the UPA" to one of the units of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In Poland, the activities of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) are perceived extremely negatively due to the Volhynia massacre of 1943–1944, during which, according to Polish estimates, tens of thousands of Poles were killed. Nawrocki stated that it is unacceptable for Poland that military personnel trained and supported by the Polish side serve under symbols associated with the UPA.
Leave a comment