Nawrocki on Zelenskyy being stripped of Order of White Eagle: "He has crossed threshold of Poles’ pain"
Polish President Karol Nawrocki stated that Poles fully understand the cost of war and the Russian threat, but the actions of Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy have crossed the Poles’ "pain threshold".
He made this statement during the commemoration of the National Day of the Silesian Uprisings, as quoted by TVN 24, reports Censor.NET.
Navrotsky explained his decision
According to Nawrocki, Poles know what the struggle for independence and the Russian threat entail, but what Zelenskyy has done has crossed the "pain threshold". He said that throughout the 20th century, Poland was free for only 31 years, whilst for the rest of the time it resisted the domination of foreign powers.
"Either we fought against Soviet troops in 1920, or we suffered as victims of German and Soviet totalitarianism, or we fought against Soviet colonisers from 1945 until 1989... Yes, we know what war is, we know what the struggle for independence is, we know what the post-Soviet – and today, Russian – threat is, but we are a proud Polish nation and we have our own pain threshold when it comes to matters concerning us and our allies. And that pain threshold has been exceeded, which is why I have stripped President Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle," the Polish President explained his decision.
What led up to it?
Polish President Karol Nawrocki has stripped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the country’s highest honour, the Order of the White Eagle, amid a scandal over the naming of an elite unit of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces after the Heroes of the UPA.
In response, a number of Ukrainian officials issued statements:
- The Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, has declined the Commander’s Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland in response to the decision by the President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, to strip Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Poland’s highest honour, the Order of the White Eagle;
- The Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, declined the Order of Merit of Poland;
- Ukraine’s Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Bodnar also announced that he would return his Polish honour following the stripping of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle.
- On 20 June, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded the Order of the White Eagle to the President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki.
