Polish President Seeks to Revoke Zelensky’s White Eagle

Polish President Karol Nawrocki has proposed stripping Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of Poland’s highest state honor, the Order of the White Eagle, following a controversial decision by Kyiv to name a military unit after a World War II-era nationalist group. The move has sparked a significant diplomatic dispute between the two nations, who have otherwise been close allies since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

President Nawrocki announced on Friday that he had submitted a proposal for the Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle to consider revoking the award when it meets on June 8. The action is a direct response to a decree signed by President Zelensky earlier in the week, which granted the honorary title "Heroes of the UPA" to an elite Ukrainian Special Operations Forces unit. Zelensky stated the designation was intended to restore historical traditions of the national military and recognize the unit's role in defending Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity.

The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) was a nationalist formation that fought for an independent Ukrainian state against both Soviet and German forces during the 1940s. In Poland, however, the...