Warsaw Receives Order of the White Eagle Back From Zelensky, Sends to Special Archive
Polish officials on Monday said Zelensky returned the Order of the White Eagle by mail and that the decoration will now be placed in a special presidential archive. The move follows President Karol Nawrocki’s decision to revoke the award, a step that sparked criticism from Kyiv.
Speaking to Polsat News, presidential spokesman Rafal Leskiewicz said the insignia arrived at the Presidential Chancellery on Monday and would now be transferred to a special archive maintained by the office.
“The order was indeed sent back. We received it at the Presidential Chancellery,” Leskiewicz said.
He said the decoration and its annulled certificate would be placed in the custody of Poland’s Office of Orders and Decorations, where they would remain permanently.
“The award will go to the deposit of the Office of Orders and Nominations, where it will be stored with due dignity and respect, because it is Poland’s highest and most important state decoration,” he said.
According to Leskiewicz, the specific insignia returned by Zelensky will never again be awarded to another recipient.
The spokesman added that formal completion of the revocation process still requires publication of the relevant presidential decree, countersigned by Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
The dispute began after Nawrocki announced on Friday that he was stripping Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle, citing his approval of naming a Ukrainian military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).
US urged Russia to make a deal, citing 40,000 monthly casualties and economic strain as the UN reported a four-year high in Ukraine civilian casualties.
The decision drew criticism from Kyiv, with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha calling it a “strategic mistake” that would benefit Moscow and announcing he would return a Polish state decoration he received in 2022.
Despite the controversy, Leskiewicz expressed confidence that the episode would not lead to a broader deterioration in relations between Warsaw and Kyiv.
He added that Nawrocki said in his original statement that the decision was not directed against Ukrainians and did not alter Poland’s support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
“Russia remains the enemy of Ukraine, of all free Europe and of the free world,” Leskiewicz said, referring to the Polish president’s position.
Dispute deepens
The remarks come as tensions between Warsaw and Kyiv continue to rise following Nawrocki’s decision to revoke the award, which had been awarded to Zelensky in 2023.
The decision was linked to Ukraine’s move to grant a military unit the honorary title “Heroes of the UPA.”
The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) is viewed in Ukraine as part of the independence struggle, while Poland holds it responsible for mass killings of Polish civilians during World War II.
After consulting the order’s chapter, Nawrocki revoked the award, citing Zelensky’s approval of the designation. He said the decision was not directed against the Ukrainian people and did not signal a change in Poland’s support for Ukraine.
Zelensky’s reaction
The move prompted Zelensky to return the honor and triggered a broader backlash in Ukraine, with several current and former officials announcing plans to return or renounce Polish state awards.
In addition to Sybiha, several former presidents, high-ranking officials, and prominent public figures, said they would return Polish state awards, arguing that the move undermined relations between the two countries and played into Russia’s hands.
“If it is considered that this special symbol can remain with Catherine II, Benito Mussolini, and Gerhard Schroeder, then we in Ukraine will not argue with this,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram, accompanying his message with a photograph of the award being returned by mail.
After that Agnieszka Jancążek, a minister in the Chancellery of Polish President Karol Nawrocki, made the remarks on Sunday, saying even controversial recipients such as Benito Mussolini, Catherine II, and former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder had never openly insulted the Polish nation.
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