Poland has stated that the decision on whether to strip Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle will depend on the further actions of the Ukrainian side. Warsaw links the situation to the decision to give one of the military units a name associated with the UPA.
This was reported by RMF24, citing a statement by Marcin Przydacz, head of the International Policy Bureau of the President of Poland.
According to him, the Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle has already considered the award granted to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and presented its position to Polish President Karol Nawrocki.
Presidential spokesperson Rafał Leśkiewicz said that the final decision would be made later.
Commenting on the situation, Przydacz said that “the ball is now on Ukraine’s side.”
“It should be emphasized once again that the decision of the Ukrainian side to name military units after the ‘Heroes of the UPA,’ who are in fact bandits under the UPA banner, is unacceptable in Poland. This has caused widespread outrage. That is why specific steps by the president were announced,” he said.
Przydacz also stated that many Poles feel “justified anger and disappointment” because of this decision. According to the official, the Ukrainian side still has an opportunity to change its position.
“The Ukrainian side has time to properly analyze the value of its relations with Poland. It knows perfectly well what needs to be done to improve those relations,” he said.
Przydacz added that if the Polish side does not see “real actions and gestures” from Ukraine, the President of Poland will make a decision regarding further steps.
“We believe this is a fair way to put the matter: we have clearly expressed our rejection of the glorification of UPA bandits, but in the spirit of a certain signal and readiness for dialogue, there is still time for the Ukrainian side to take a step back,” the statement said.
The final decision of President Karol Nawrocki on the matter may be made in the near future.
