Polish opposition leader Kaczyński will return award he received from Zelenskyy

The leader of the Polish opposition (chairman of the Law and Justice party) and former Polish Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński stated that he would return to Ukraine the Order of Yaroslav the Wise, Second Class, which he received from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

He made this announcement during a press conference, according to RMF24.

Kaczyński was asked about his views on the conference on Ukraine’s reconstruction, which is taking place in Gdańsk.

“The mayor of Lviv is attending this conference, and regardless of the fact that he is an outspoken Bandera supporter, he is someone who refuses to pay a Polish company for work that has already been completed,” Kaczyński said.

In his belief, Andriy Sadovyi’s presence at the conference in Gdańsk demonstrates Ukraine’s attitude toward Poland.

“I’ll return my medal too, because I hold a fairly high rank. The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise—that is, the highest one—though not the First Class, since I’m not the president. I hold the Second Class. This will be an expression of my attitude—perhaps not so much toward Ukrainians as toward the Ukrainian elite. On the other hand, it is an act of loyalty to our president; such acts are necessary today,” he said.

When asked whether this would become yet another factor in the escalation, Kaczyński stated that the conflict is “rapidly escalating” on the other side.

In particular, as he emphasized, Poland should begin blocking the EU’s opening of the next so-called negotiation clusters with Ukraine. He added that this, however, is his personal opinion, not the party’s position.

As Kaczyński stated, one of the conditions for good relations between Poland and Ukraine is “Ukraine’s acknowledgment of its guilt, an apology, and the burial of all victims.”

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, the Office of the President of Poland announced that it had received the Order of the White Eagle, returned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The award will be placed in permanent storage and will no longer be presented to other individuals.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki explained the decision to revoke the Order of the White Eagle from Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stating that it had exceeded the “pain threshold” of Polish society.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy explained that the decision to bestow the honorary title “in the name of the Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army” on a unit of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was an initiative of the military personnel themselves.