{"id":2616766,"date":"2026-06-20T17:18:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T21:18:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/zelensky-stripped-of-polands-highest-honor-after-honoring-nationalist-group\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T17:19:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T21:19:54","slug":"zelensky-stripped-of-polands-highest-honor-after-honoring-nationalist-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/zelensky-stripped-of-polands-highest-honor-after-honoring-nationalist-group\/","title":{"rendered":"Zelensky stripped of Poland&#8217;s highest honor after honoring nationalist group"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fzelensky-stripped-of-polands-highest-honor-after-honoring-nationalist-group%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2616766&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Polish President Karol Nawrocki revoked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky&#8217;s highest honor after Ukraine named a military unit after the controversial Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a WWII-era nationalist group involved in massacres of Poles. Relations between Poland and Ukraine have worsened over historical disagreements, especially regarding the honoring of entities associated with nationalist and Nazi collaborationist pasts. Nawrocki emphasized the importance of memory and honoring victims,criticizing Ukraine\u2019s decision,which he viewed as disrespectful and a strategic mistake. Zelensky responded by calling Nawrocki\u2019s actions an insult to the symbol of Poland and criticized the honorary award being associated with figures like Catherine II, Mussolini, and Schr\u00f6der. He defended Ukraine\u2019s pride in its fighters, implicitly including the UPA, and returned the Polish Order of White Eagle medal he received. Ukraine\u2019s officials condemned Poland\u2019s move, citing it as an unfriendly act and a gift to Russia. Historically, Ukraine views the UPA as fighters for independence, while Poland and Russia see them as perpetrators of violence. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >controversy highlights longstanding tensions rooted<\/a> in historical memory,nationalist symbolism,and differing narratives about WWII and its aftermath.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped Ukrainian President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/volodymyr-zelensky\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"891\">Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a> of Poland\u2019s highest honor after Ukraine named a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a controversial <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3781680\/ukraine-poland-rift-ban-ukrainian-nationalist-symbols-bandera\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"3781680\">World War II-era nationalist group<\/a> that engaged in the mass murder of Poles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Poland emerged as one of Ukraine\u2019s closest allies after the Russian invasion in February 2022, providing Kyiv with some of its strongest military and diplomatic support. As the war has dragged on, however, cracks in the relationship have grown, especially as historical areas of contention reemerge, particularly the two\u2019s contentious relationship during World War II. These <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/portland-police-association-moving-headquarters\/\" title=\"Portland Police Association moving headquarters\">tensions flared<\/a> to their worst level since the invasion this week, when Nawrocki denounced and stripped Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle, awarded to him in 2023, over the honoring of the UPA.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4617561\/vance-us-iran-talk-sunday-switzerland-flux\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Vance says US-Iran talks will start Sunday in Switzerland but situation is \u2018in flux\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4617543\/meloni-trump-attacks-senseless-defend-italy-national-interest\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Meloni calls Trump\u2019s attacks \u2018senseless\u2019 and says she will \u2018defend Italy\u2019s national interest\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4617519\/iran-close-strait-of-hormuz-again-diplomat-switzerland\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Iran says it closed the Strait of Hormuz again as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/iran-says-it-closed-the-strait-of-hormuz-again-as-diplomats-head-to-switzerland\/\" title=\"Iran says it closed the Strait of Hormuz again as diplomats head to Switzerland\">diplomatic team heads<\/a> to Switzerland<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3781680\/ukraine-poland-rift-ban-ukrainian-nationalist-symbols-bandera\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"3781680\">UKRAINE AND POLAND FACE RIFT OVER PROPOSED BAN ON UKRAINIAN NATIONALIST SYMBOLS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe must not forget our history. We must not abandon our memory. We must not surrender the dignity of our victims. This is how we understand our duty toward those who can no longer speak for themselves. This is how we understand the significance of the Order of the White Eagle. Poland lives as long as the nation remembers. Long live Poland!\u201d Nawrocki said in a video message on Friday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a longer video message, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/congressman-owens-the-greatest-threat-to-the-left-is-a-middle-class-black-american\/\" title=\"Congressman Owens: \u2018The Greatest Threat To The Left Is A Middle Class Black American...\">president outlined<\/a> the progress that had been made in acknowledging and commemorating the victims of the Volhynian Genocide at the hands of the UPA, saying that such progress made Kyiv\u2019s decision to honor the group \u201cis not only outrageous, it is also incomprehensible and deeply disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He revealed that the issue had been privately discussed with Kyiv for several weeks before it became apparent that the negotiations were only stalling and that Kyiv had no intention of changing its position on honoring the group.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Zelensky formally responded on Saturday in a decidedly undiplomatic post on X, subtly trashing the Polish government for revoking his award while not doing so with other historical awardees that many would object to.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said that the order was a \u201csymbol of the highest trust of the Republic of Poland. It signifies a special bond with the Polish state and the special gratitude of the Polish People. Such a symbol requires not only merit, but also respect for the values that form the foundation of our community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTherefore, if it is considered that this special symbol may remain with Catherine II, Benito Mussolini, and Gerhard Schr\u00f6der, then we in Ukraine will not argue with that,\u201d Zelensky added in a pointed remark, referring to the former Russian Tsarina, Italian Fascist dictator, and former German chancellor who pursued policies favorable towards Russia, respectively.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He proceeded to dance around the contentious topic, saying he would remain open to engagement with Poland to \u201cavoid conflicting interpretations of the difficult and painful chapters of our shared past and to ensure proper respect for all innocent victims of the 20th century.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Zelensky never directly addressed the honoring of the UPA, but in his most direct comment he said he was proud of \u201cEVERY\u201d Ukrainian warrior who fought against Russia, implicitly including the UPA.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI am proud of our people and of EVERY Ukrainian warrior \u2013 of the millions of Ukrainian men and women who deserve unquestionable respect for the heroism the Ukrainian People have shown in defending themselves against Russian aggression,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe believed that the Order of the White Eagle, awarded in 2023, was meant for the Ukrainian People and our army. That is what was said at the time. Today, I sent the Order back to the President of Poland. I believe the future will confirm the respect Ukrainians deserve,\u201d Zelensky concluded.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other Ukrainian officials denounced Poland\u2019s move. Ukraine\u2019s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called it a \u201cstrategic mistake\u201d and \u201cdisrespectful.\u201d Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov described Warsaw\u2019s move as an \u201cunfriendly act toward our people, and a \u201cgift to the Moscow aggressor, who will certainly use it against both of our countries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Budanov was more direct in countering Poland\u2019s accusation, saying, \u201cOur peoples have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-has-yet-to-call-israels-netanyahu\/\" title=\"Biden Has Yet To Call Israel...s Netanyahu\">long-standing relations<\/a> and varied pages of history \u2014both heroic and tragic. However, this should serve as an occasion for deep reflection, not crude political speculation. Ukraine does not dictate to any other people how to teach its history. Therefore, we too reserve the fair right to our own national memory and dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He announced that he was returning his own \u201cGold Officer\u2019s Cross of the Order of Merit of Poland,\u201d gifted to him last year by the president of Poland.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ukraine and Poland have a notoriously contentious history. The lands historically now known as Ukraine were occupied by the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth for centuries, and many Ukrainians view their nation\u2019s genesis as the rebellion of Cossack Hetman Boghdan Khmelnitsky against the commonwealth, an event characterized by massacres of Poles and Jews. Their relations reached a low point in the 1920s-1940s, when the new Republic of Poland had a significant Ukrainian minority.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The group at the center of the feud, the UPA, was founded by nationalists loyal to Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera. Bandera had taken hold of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and turned it into a terrorist group primarily targeting Poles and Jews, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Stepan-Bandera-Afterlife-Ukrainian-Nationalist\/dp\/3838206843\">as documented<\/a> in author Grzegorz Rossolinski-Liebe\u2019s biography <em>Stepan Bandera: The Life and Afterlife of a Ukrainian Nationalist: Fascism, Genocide, and Cult<\/em>. He was imprisoned for organizing the assassination of Polish Interior Minister\u00a0Bronis\u0142aw Pieracki in 1934. He explicitly modeled the group after Adolf Hitler\u2019s Nazis and sought an alliance with them against Poland and the Soviet Union. He and many OUN\/UPA leaders were prominent Nazi collaborators who helped with the mass murder of Jews in Ukraine, but later turned against the Nazis over differing strategic aims.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The primary area of contention between Ukraine and Poland is the Volhynian Genocide of 1943-1945, when, independent of the Nazis, the UPA carried out the mass slaughter of Poles in what is now western Ukraine. The first day of the genocide, July 11, when UPA fighters launched coordinated mass killings of Poles gathered for Church on Sunday, is now commemorated as the \u201cNational Day of Remembrance of the victims of the Genocide of Citizens of the Polish Republic committed by Ukrainian Nationalists\u201d in Poland.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At least 100,000 Poles were massacred by the UPA. The killings were engineered to terrify the remaining Poles into fleeing westward, so extensive documentation was spread of the accompanying torture and mutilation. The area that now makes up western Ukraine was so thoroughly depopulated of Poles by the end of World War II that the Soviet Union decided to redraw the map of Eastern Europe, moving Ukraine and Poland westward at Germany\u2019s expense to create the three modern borders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While widely derided in Poland and Russia, the UPA is viewed as heroic freedom fighters for Ukrainian independence by many in Ukraine today. The group waged a guerilla war against the Soviet Union into the 1950s, and UPA emigres played a key role in reviving Ukraine\u2019s nationalist movement during perestroika. Bandera and prominent UPA commanders like Roman Shukhevych, who led some massacres in the Volhynian Genocide, are viewed as founding fathers of modern Ukraine, and enjoy near-unanimous popularity in right-wing and nationalist circles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/1347758\/stephen-king-appears-to-praise-holocaust-architect-as-great-man-in-prank-call\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"1347758\">STEPHEN KING APPEARS TO PRAISE HOLOCAUST ARCHITECT AS \u2018GREAT MAN\u2019 IN PRANK CALL<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Zelensky, as a Russian-speaking Jew, has expressed some discomfort with the extensive honoring of Bandera and Shukhevych. He was more open about his critiques when he was a comedian, occasionally featuring <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=g7bv7LUUhO4\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=g7bv7LUUhO4\">sketches<\/a> as part of his Kvartal 95 comedy troupe lampooning \u201cBanderite\u201d nationalists and referring to them interchangeably with Nazis. He took part in one sketch titled, \u201cEven North Korea doesn\u2019t want to deal with Banderites.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He has avoided any direct criticism of Bandera or the UPA since becoming president, cognizant of the influence of right-wing groups within the government and the military. Brigadier General Andriy Biletsky, a former neo-Nazi politician, is one of the most influential figures in the military, leading the prestigious Azov Regiment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Poland revokes Zelensky&#8217;s honor over UPA controversy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2653,"featured_media":2616767,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26170701101511.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[81483,81482,11622,34374],"class_list":["post-2616766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-honor-revocation","tag-nationalist-group","tag-poland","tag-ukrainian-president"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26170701101511.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2653"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2616766"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2616770,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616766\/revisions\/2616770"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2616767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2616766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2616766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2616766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}