Ukraine's Foreign Minister Returns Polish State Award After Poland Strips Zelenskyy of Top Honour

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has stated he will return the high Polish state award he received in October 2022 – the Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. This decision comes after Polish President Karol Nawrocki decided to strip President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle.

In a Facebook post, Sybiha described Nawrocki's move as a strategic mistake that would only benefit Moscow. He expressed regret that emotions in Warsaw had prevailed, prompting Polish politicians to take unjustified, impulsive, and disrespectful steps directed not only at President Zelenskyy but primarily at the Ukrainian state.

The minister emphasized that the issue is not about decorations but about attitude, noting that Ukraine has always advocated for mutual respect. He pointed out that for a year and a half, Ukraine has actively worked to resolve disagreements, depoliticise historical issues, unblock professional and academic cooperation, and facilitate search and exhumation work at Poland's request.

Sybiha added that the current escalation is counterproductive and unnecessary for both Ukrainians and Poles. He expressed hope that cooler heads would eventually prevail and that Poland's friends would return to an equal dialogue consistent with the allied relationship between the two countries in the face of a common enemy in Moscow.

The decision follows Nawrocki's move on 19 June to strip Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle over the decision to grant one of Ukrainian military units the honorary designation "named after the Heroes of the UPA". Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Zelenskyy did not intend to offend Poland by the decision, but that, in Tusk's view, the Ukrainian side lacks sensitivity on the matter.