Photo: president.gov.ua
“We will respond in kind to all actions, especially if they are unfriendly and demonstrate contempt for our country. The time when we turned a blind eye to this is over,” Sibiga said during the National Telethon.
The Ukrainian foreign minister accused the Polish leader of undermining the positive momentum in bilateral relations that has developed in recent years, Meduza reports, citing the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. According to him, Navrotsky’s actions are damaging cooperation between the two countries and play into the hands of opponents of the Ukrainian-Polish partnership.
Sybiga emphasized that the issue concerns not only Zelenskyy personally or the award itself. In his view, such decisions are perceived in Kyiv as a sign of disrespect toward the Ukrainian state and its citizens.
At the same time, the minister noted that Ukraine continues to highly value the support provided by Poland since the start of the full-scale war and advocates for maintaining a constructive dialogue. He called on both sides to refrain from emotional assessments and to use existing diplomatic mechanisms to resolve their differences.
This new round of tension in relations between Kyiv and Warsaw stems from historical disputes. In May, Volodymyr Zelenskyy bestowed the honorary title “Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army” (UPA) on one of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In Poland, this move provoked a sharp reaction due to the UPA’s role in the events of the Volhynia tragedy of 1943–1944.
Against this backdrop, Karol Nawrocki announced that Zelenskyy would be stripped of the Order of the White Eagle. In response, the Ukrainian president returned the award to Poland. Later, former Ukrainian presidents Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Yushchenko, and Petro Poroshenko also renounced the order.
The scandal surrounding the award served as yet another indication that historical disagreements are once again beginning to complicate relations between the two neighboring states, which in recent years have demonstrated an unprecedented level of political and military cooperation.
