Poland Demands Ukraine Renounce WWII Nationalist Honors or Face Consequences

Polish President Karol Nawrocki has given Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky just days to renounce the honoring of nationalist militias that massacred Poles during World War II, Rzeczpospolita reported on Saturday, citing government sources.

The diplomatic feud between the neighboring countries erupted last month when Zelensky renamed an elite commando unit after “the heroes of the UPA,” referring to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, the military wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN).

The OUN sought to create an ethnically homogeneous Ukrainian state and, in its documents, labeled Poles, Russians, Jews, and other minorities as enemies. The group collaborated with Nazi Germany during the initial stage of its invasion of the Soviet Union. The UPA, created in October 1942 following a split with the Germans, killed up to 100,000 Polish civilians in what is now western Ukraine. Poland recognizes the massacres as genocide.

Nawrocki backed an initiative by Polish MP Grzegorz Płaczek to revoke Zelensky’s Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest state distinction, which was awarded to the Ukrainian leader by then-President Andrzej Duda in 2023.

According to Rzeczpospolita, Nawrocki wants to demonstrate that he is “not acting on emotion” and that the time given to the Ukrainian leader to rectify the situation is “not unlimited.” The newspaper reported that the deadline is “measured more in days than in weeks.”

“The ball is in Ukraine’s court. If there is no positive response, the procedure will conclude with a decision by the president,” Marcin Przydacz, head of the presidential International Policy Office, said at a press conference on Thursday.

Speaking to TV Republika on Friday, presidential spokesman Rafal Leskiewicz said Nawrocki expects Zelensky to reverse the “shameful act.”

“We will wait a few more days. Let’s not give in to pressure,” he added.

Poland is one of Ukraine’s most vocal supporters in the conflict with Russia. The country serves as a hub for the training of Ukrainian troops and the delivery of weapons to Kiev.

The UPA and other World War II-era nationalist groups are officially celebrated as freedom fighters in Ukraine. Streets and buildings are named after them, while a torchlit procession is held in Kiev every January 1 to mark the birthday of Stepan Bandera, one of the OUN leaders.

Russia has long protested against the glorification of Nazi collaborators in Ukraine and has listed “denazification” as one of its goals in the conflict.