Head of the Presidential Administration Kyrylo Budanov refused the Golden Officer's Cross of the Order "For Merit to Poland", which he received in 2025.
The official reported this on his official page on the Telegram social network.
This gesture was a response to the fact that Polish President Karol Nawrocki deprived his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle previously awarded to him.
Budanov promised that Ukraine would assess this event.
"Ukraine does not tell any other people how to teach its history. Therefore, we reserve the fair right to our own national memory and dignity.
I am convinced that this gesture by the President of Poland is not about justice or anything. After all, what kind of justice can we talk about if, for example, the Italian fascist dictator and Hitler's accomplice Benito Mussolini has not yet been deprived of the Order of the White Eagle?...
...In view of this, I refuse the Golden Officer's Cross of the Order "For Merit to Poland", which the President of Poland awarded me last year," the head of the President's Office noted.
The head of the President's Office is convinced that Ukrainians "feel the same emotions and will support this step."
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on June 19, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced his refusal to receive the Commander's Cross with the Star of the Order "For Merit to Poland", which he was awarded in October 2022.
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