More than half of the survey participants in Poland stated that their attitude towards Ukrainians worsened after Ukrainian President Volodyr Zelensky's decision to award the Special Operations Forces unit the honorary title "Heroes of the UPA." The issue has once again intensified the long-standing historical dispute between the two countries.
The decision of Ukrainian President Volodyr Zelensky to award the honorary title "Heroes of the UPA" to one of the units of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces has caused significant public resonance in Poland.
According to a survey published by the newspaper "Rzeczpospolita," 51.9% of respondents stated that their attitude towards Ukrainians became more negative after this. For 31.9% of the participants, the decision did not affect their opinion, while 4.5% reported that they began to view Ukrainians more positively. Another 11.7% were unsure how to respond.
This refers to a decree signed by Zelensky in May. According to the document, the Independent Center for Special Operations "North" received the honorary title "Heroes of the UPA." The Ukrainian side explained this by the desire to preserve and restore the historical traditions of the national army.
However, in Poland, this step has drawn sharp criticism from politicians of various views. The President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, stated that after such a decision, the issue of revoking the Order of the White Eagle from Zelensky should be considered — the highest state award of Poland, which the Ukrainian leader was awarded in 2023.
The situation shows that historical issues remain one of the most sensitive topics in relations between Warsaw and Kyiv, even against the backdrop of close cooperation in recent years.
For Ukraine, the UPA is often seen as part of the struggle for the country's independence. In Poland, however, this organization is primarily associated with the Volhynian tragedy and the mass killings of Polish civilians during World War II. This difference in the assessment of these historical events has been a source of tension between the two states for many years.
After the heated discussion, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stated that it did not intend to offend the Polish people and emphasized the friendly nature of relations between the countries.
Nevertheless, the reaction of Polish society indicates that issues of historical memory continue to have a significant impact on public sentiment and perceptions of contemporary politics.
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