All Former Ukrainian Presidents Refuse Poland's Highest Honor

On June 21, 2026, it was reported that all living former Ukrainian presidents who had been awarded the Order of the White Eagle have declined the honor. This came after Polish President Karol Nawrocki decided to strip the current Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, of the country's highest decoration.

Petro Poroshenko was the first to announce his refusal, posting on Facebook that the award was not given to heads of state but to Ukrainian soldiers defending Ukraine, Poland, and all of Europe. He stressed that his decision was not directed against the Polish people and called for an immediate resolution of the crisis between Kyiv and Warsaw, noting it is a security issue amid Russian aggression.

Zelenskyy stated he had returned the order to the Polish president, remarking that if such a symbol can remain with Catherine II, Benito Mussolini, and Gerhard Schröder, then Ukraine will not argue. He thanked the Polish people for their support against Russian aggression.

Other Ukrainian officials also refused the award: Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, Presidential Office head Kyrylo Budanov, Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Bondar, and former Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman. Former presidents Leonid Kuchma and Viktor Yushchenko also announced they were giving up the order.

The dispute originated from Zelenskyy's May 26 decree to rename the Northern Independent Special Operations Center of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces to "Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA)." In Ukraine, the UPA is honored for its role in the fight for independence, but in Poland it is associated with the Volhynia massacre—a mass killing of Polish civilians by the UPA from 1943 to 1945, estimated at 60,000 to 100,000 Poles. Retaliatory actions and subsequent conflict resulted in 2,000–3,000 Ukrainian deaths, and by 1947, another 20,000 Ukrainians had been killed by the Polish communist regime.