Poland has criticized Ukraine’s return of Polish awards
Zbigniew Bogucki, head of the Polish President’s Office, stated that Ukrainian officials are forgetting Poland’s assistance by returning state honors.
This was reported by Censor.NET, citing Bogucki's X.
"Ukrainian officials are casually returning Polish awards, forgetting that it was precisely these hands that reached out for help, and that this help came from Polish hands: from the Polish government, local authorities, nongovernmental organizations, and millions of Poles," Bogucki commented.
He accompanied his post with an excerpt from the poem "On Ingratitude" by the poet Ludwik Kropiński.
What preceded it?
Polish President Karol Nawrocki 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:
- Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha declined the Commander’s Cross with Star of the Order "For Merit to Poland" in response to Polish President Karol Nawrocki’s decision 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, has declined the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland;
- Vasyl Bodnar, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Poland, also announced that he was returning his Polish award following President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s stripping of the Order of the White Eagle.
- On 20 June, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent the Order of the White Eagle to Polish President Karol Nawrocki.
- The second President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, the third President of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, and the fifth President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, also announced that they were declining the Polish Order of the White Eagle.
