Top Ukrainian officials return Polish awards amid World War Two memory dispute

Top Ukrainian officials have said they will return Polish awards after Poland stripped President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of its highest honour in a dispute over World War Two massacres and the legacy of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. The move marks a fresh diplomatic rift between two countries that have remained close allies since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It also brings a long-running historical argument back into the centre of bilateral relations.

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Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine's ambassador to Warsaw, Vasyl Bodnar, and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Saturday that they would relinquish awards bestowed by Poland. Budanov said the two nations have long-standing relations and "different pages of history", describing them as both heroic and tragic. He added that the issue should prompt reflection rather than political speculation.

The dispute intensified after Polish President Karol Nawrocki announced on Friday that he would strip Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle. Zelenskyy had received the honour in 2023 from former Polish President Andrzej Duda for services to security, resilience and the defence of human rights. Nawrocki said the Ukrainian Insurgent Army remains, for many in Poland, a formation responsible for crimes against Polish citizens during World War Two.

He also said the decision would not end Poland's support for Ukraine against Russia. The immediate trigger appears to be Zelenskyy's decision on May 26 to name a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA. The UPA operated in the 1940s and 1950s and is viewed very differently in the two countries.

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In Poland, it is associated with mass killings of Poles during the war, while in Ukraine it is often treated as part of the country's struggle for independence. That difference has made wartime memory a recurring source of tension even as Warsaw has been one of Kyiv's strongest supporters. The latest exchange matters because it touches both symbolism and wartime politics.

Poland has been among Ukraine's key backers in its defence against Russia, and any public dispute between the two governments risks feeding narratives that Moscow has sought to promote. Ukrainian officials said the Polish decision played into Russia's hands, with Budanov calling it an unfriendly act and a gift to the Moscow aggressor. Sybiha described it as a strategic mistake, while Bodnar said it was especially painful as Ukraine continues to face Russian attacks.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who is a political rival of Nawrocki, urged both sides to calm tensions. He said the conflict between Poland and Ukraine delights Vladimir Putin and shocks allies. The comments underline that the dispute is not only about history, but also about how the two governments manage a sensitive relationship during an ongoing war.

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