The President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, defended this Monday that his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, is mistaken in presenting the withdrawal of the Order of the White Eagle as an issue linked to Polish internal politics, rather than to disagreements over shared historical memory between the two countries.
"Dear Volodymyr, Mr. President, the dispute has nothing to do with Poland's internal affairs," Nawrocki stated, addressing the Ukrainian leader directly, and emphasizing that in Poland "we understand the harm that Ukrainian nationalists have caused" to the Polish people, according to statements reported by the PAP agency.
"President Zelensky is mistaken," he reiterated to journalists during an event held in Warsaw. The Ukrainian leader had maintained in an interview that the decision to withdraw the Order of the White Eagle from him was due to domestic political issues, in a context where Nawrocki and Prime Minister Donald Tusk have been exhibiting strong disagreements.
However, Nawrocki insisted that "the dispute lies in the perception of historical issues" and that Poland rejects the red and black flag, in reference to the colors of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a nationalist formation accused of perpetrating massacres on Polish territory during World War II.
"All patriots understand the crimes that Ukrainian nationalists committed on Polish soil and the gravity of those moments," Nawrocki remarked. On Friday, the head of the Polish state decided to revoke this distinction, the country's highest honor, from Zelensky after the Ukrainian president agreed to have a unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces named 'Heroes of the UPA'.
For Zelensky, on the other hand, this measure is primarily linked to internal political dynamics, despite the fact that the next parliamentary elections in Poland are more than a year away, and he reproached Nawrocki for trying, "as former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán already did," to gain electoral benefits by fueling hatred.
At the same time, the Ukrainian leader urged Nawrocki to maintain a constructive relationship with Kyiv, recalling that it is Ukraine that is containing Russian aggression while its territory suffers daily bombings. "Without Ukraine, no one will be able to protect Poland. It is simply impossible," he stated.