{"id":1031,"date":"2026-06-22T14:43:50","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T14:43:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=1031"},"modified":"2026-06-22T14:43:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T14:43:50","slug":"polish-president-strips-zelenskyy-of-honor-over-naming-of-army-unit-after-notorious-wwii-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=1031","title":{"rendered":"Polish president strips Zelenskyy of honor over naming of army unit after notorious WWII group"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WARSAW, Poland (AP) \u2014 Polish President Karol Nawrocki<\/span> said Friday he will strip Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Poland\u2019s highest state honor over the Ukraine leader\u2019s decision to name a military unit after a Ukrainian paramilitary organization accused of massacring Poles during World War II.<\/p>\n

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Zelenskyy was awarded the Order of the White Eagle in 2023 by Poland\u2019s then President Andrzej Duda for his services to security, resilience and the defence of human rights. <\/p>\n

But it will now be revoked after Zelenskyy issued a decree on May 26 naming a military unit of Ukraine\u2019s Special Operations Forces after the UPA \u2014 the Ukrainian Insurgent Army \u2014 which operated during the 1940s and 1950s and which is accused in Poland of mass killings<\/span>. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor the majority of Polish society, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army remains above all a formation responsible for cruel crimes against the citizens of the Polish Republic during World War II,\u201d Nawrocki said in a 13-minute address on social media. <\/p>\n

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Nawrocki said his decision to revoke the honor did not mean Poland\u2019s support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia would decrease. <\/p>\n

Next week, Poland is hosting a major event on Ukraine\u2019s post-war reconstruction, with Zelenskyy expected to attend. <\/p>\n

Zelenskyy\u2019s decree said the designation was meant to restore the historical traditions of the national military and to recognize the unit\u2019s performance in defending Ukraine\u2019s territorial integrity and independence.<\/p>\n

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The UPA was a military organization that fought for Ukrainian independence against both Nazi German and Soviet forces. But it is accused in Poland for the wartime killings of tens of thousands of Poles, most in the Nazi-occupied regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia. In 2016, the Polish parliament recognized the crimes committed by UPA as genocide. <\/p>\n

Ukrainians say armed formations on both sides, including the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and Polish underground forces, were involved in attacks and reprisals that led to large-scale civilian casualties among both Poles and Ukrainians.<\/p>\n

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Poland\u2019s liberal Prime Minister Donald Tusk was also critical of the Ukrainian decree, but he also warned that Russia\u2019s President Vladimir Putin might benefit from the two countries being in conflict about the past. <\/p>\n

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