{"id":7399,"date":"2026-06-20T16:35:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T16:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/06\/20\/zelenskyy-and-top-ukrainian-officials-return-polish-awards-in-wwii-dispute\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T16:35:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T16:35:17","slug":"zelenskyy-and-top-ukrainian-officials-return-polish-awards-in-wwii-dispute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/06\/20\/zelenskyy-and-top-ukrainian-officials-return-polish-awards-in-wwii-dispute\/","title":{"rendered":"Zelenskyy and top Ukrainian officials return Polish awards in WWII dispute"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><em>The move comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was stripped of Poland\u2019s top honour.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Ukraine\u2019s president \u2060and his top officials are returning Polish awards, in a spiralling dispute with key ally Poland over World War II massacres.<\/p>\n<p>Volodymyr \u2060Zelenskyy said on Saturday that he had returned a \u2060state decoration a day after Poland\u2019s \u2060president said he would strip him of the award. Zelenskyy angered many in Poland by naming a military unit after a Ukrainian paramilitary organisation accused of massacring Poles during World War II.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 4 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/6\/19\/italys-top-diplomat-nixes-us-trip-after-meloni-says-trump-fabricated-story\">Italy\u2019s top diplomat nixes US trip after Meloni says Trump fabricated story<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/6\/19\/petrol-shortages-and-oil-rain-bring-russia-ukraine-war-home-to-moscow\">Petrol shortages and \u2018oil rain\u2019 bring Ukraine war home to Moscow<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/6\/19\/two-men-jailed-for-arson-attacks-on-property-linked-to-uk-prime-minister\">Two men jailed for arson attacks on property linked to UK prime minister<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 4 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/6\/19\/trump-hints-at-new-approach-to-north-koreas-nuclear-programme\">Trump hints at new approach to North Korea\u2019s nuclear programme<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>\u201cWe believed that the Order of the \u2060White Eagle, awarded \u2060in 2023, was meant for the Ukrainian People and \u2060our army. That \u2060is what was said \u2060at the time,\u201d the Ukrainian leader wrote on X. \u201cToday, I \u200csent the Order back to the President of \u200cPoland.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Earlier on Saturday, Zelenskyy\u2019s chief of staff, Kyrylo Budanov; Ukraine\u2019s ambassador to Warsaw, Vasyl Bodnar; and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said they would relinquish awards bestowed by Poland.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur nations have long-standing relations and \u2060different pages of history \u2013 both \u2060heroic and tragic,\u201d Budanov posted on social media. \u201cHowever, this should be an occasion for deep reflection, not crude political speculation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a decree on May 26, Zelenskyy named a military unit the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) \u2013 the name of a group that operated in the 1940s and 1950s.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, Polish President Karol Nawrocki announced he would strip Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle, which was bestowed on him by Former Polish President Andrzej Duda in 2023 for services to security, resilience and the defence of human rights.<\/p>\n<p>For most in Poland, \u201cthe Ukrainian Insurgent Army remains above all a formation responsible for cruel crimes against the citizens of the Polish Republic during World War II,\u201d Nawrocki said on social media, adding that the decision would not end Poland\u2019s support for Ukraine against Russia.<\/p>\n<p>Ukrainian officials criticised the decision as one that played into Russia\u2019s hands. Budanov, the Ukrainian Presidential Office chief, wrote on Telegram that it was \u201can unfriendly act toward our people\u201d and \u201ca gift to the Moscow aggressor, which will certainly use it against both of our countries\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Foreign Minister Sybiha called it a \u201cstrategic mistake\u201d, while Bodnar said it was \u201cespecially painful\u201d as Ukraine fends off Russian attacks.<\/p>\n<p>Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a political rival of President Nawrocki, urged both sides to \u201ccalm tensions\u201d in a post on X on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Conflict between Poland and Ukraine \u201cdelights Putin and shocks our allies\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n<p>The UPA fought against both Nazi German and Soviet forces, but it is also accused of mass killings of Poles in Nazi-occupied areas. Ukrainians say UPA and Polish underground forces launched large-scale attacks and reprisals against each other that led to deaths among Ukrainian and Polish civilians.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The move comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was stripped of Poland\u2019s top honour. Ukraine\u2019s president \u2060and his top officials are returning Polish awards, in a spiralling dispute with key ally Poland over World War II massacres. Volodymyr \u2060Zelenskyy said on Saturday that he had returned a \u2060state decoration a day after Poland\u2019s \u2060president said &#8230; <a title=\"Zelenskyy and top Ukrainian officials return Polish awards in WWII dispute\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/06\/20\/zelenskyy-and-top-ukrainian-officials-return-polish-awards-in-wwii-dispute\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Zelenskyy and top Ukrainian officials return Polish awards in WWII dispute\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7400,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}