Polish President Karol Nawrocki explained the decision to revoke Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Order of the White Eagle, stating that it had exceeded Polish society’s “pain threshold.”
It was reported by TVN 24.
Nawrocki stated that Poland has a history of war and loss, and in the 20th century remained independent for only 31 years, spending the rest of the time under the influence of Germany or the Soviet Union.
He emphasized that these circumstances shape Poland’s approach to security issues and allied relations.
“Yes, we know what war is, we know what the struggle for independence is, we know what the post-Soviet—and today, Russian—threat is, but we are a proud Polish nation, and we have our own pain threshold when it comes to issues that affect us and our allies. And that threshold has been crossed, which is why I took back the Order of the White Eagle from President Zelenskyy,” the Polish president stated.
As a reminder, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy returned the Order of the White Eagle to Poland, arranging for it to be sent via Nova Poshta to the office of the Polish president. In his post, he quoted Karol Nawrocki’s statement on the symbolic significance of the order and noted that the award has historically also been held by figures with controversial reputations, including Catherine II and Benito Mussolini.
Meanwhile, the second president, Leonid Kuchma, Ukraine’s third president, Viktor Yushchenko, and fifth president, Petro Poroshenko, announced their refusal of the Polish Order of the White Eagle after Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the award.
What is known about Poland’s decision regarding Zelenskyy?
On June 19, Polish President Karol Nawrocki announced that Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been stripped of the Order of the White Eagle—Poland’s highest state honor, which the Ukrainian President had received from Andrzej Duda.
As reported, this decision was preceded by a decree from Volodymyr Zelenskyy conferring an honorary name in honor of the Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army on the North Separate Special Operations Center of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Following Warsaw’s decision, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Chief of the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov, and Ukrainian Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Bodnar also decided to renounce their Polish awards.
On June 20, Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he was returning the Order of the White Eagle to Warsaw, noting that he had received this award in 2023 on behalf of the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian army.
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