He was the strongest reaction Karol Nawrocki. He did not leave a dry thread on the decision of Zelenski. – Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenski provided the best material and much oxygen for Russian propaganda by his decision. He went even further, undermining Ukraine's European aspirations: – Unfortunately, he proved that Ukraine in terms of intellectual glorification of bandits, murderers from the Ukrainian Insurgency Army is not ready to be part of the European family. This is 1 of the strongest assessments always made to Kiev in fresh years. Nawrocki did not limit himself to words – he proposed to choice up the Zelensk Order of the White Eagle, awarded in 2023 by Andrzej Duda. – There is no place or time for diplomacy – he concluded, clearly indicating that he thought the border had been crossed. Equally critical, though more balanced, was the Minister of abroad Affairs Radosław Sikorski. He admitted plainly: – I am disappointed that president Zelenski did not take our historical sensitivity into account. At the same time, he tried to speech his emotions and remind of a broader context. Sikorski besides identified the main beneficiary of the full confusion: – Only Putin will gain from the Polish-Ukrainian argument about the past. He took a akin speech Donald Tusk, although he besides did not hide criticism. – This decision undermines our historical sensitivity and unnecessarily raises the worrying level of explanation differences – he said. At the same time, he called for work on both sides: – If we fight over the past, individual else wins the future. The president of Ukraine should yet realize this. Poland too. Tusk clearly suggested that while emotions are justified, politics cannot be held hostage. Nor did he support the thought of receiving Zelensk's distinction, alternatively pointing to the request to "raise above historical disputes" and build – even hard – cooperation.
Reaction Lech Walesa was immediate and emotional. The erstwhile president didn't beat around the bush. He called the thing by name: – He insulted me and all the murdered of our people. – wrote on social media, after which he announced that he was taking off the pin with the flag of Ukraine and refused to support the president of Ukraine. The pin appeared to him just after the Russian invasion and accompanied him consistently for years. Now her deficiency becomes as meaningful as her presence before. The Welsh motion shows 1 thing: even the strongest symbols of solidarity can break if they are put to the test of memory. And this – especially in Poland – can be uncompromising. The problem is that for Ukraine UPA is something completely different from Poland. In Ukrainian narrative, it is simply a symbol of the conflict for independence, opposition to the russian Union and an effort to build our own national identity. In Polish memory – it is primarily the organization liable for genocide in Volyn and east Małopolska. Zelenski explains his decision to “restore historical traditions” and to appreciate soldiers fighting for the integrity of the state. This can be understood in the context of war and the request to build morale. But historical politics do not happen in vacuum. all specified motion has a receiver – and in this case it is besides Poland, who has supported Ukraine almost unconditionally since the beginning of Russian aggression. A photograph of the Ukrainian flag from the breast by the icon of "Solidarity" is simply a symbolic motion that speaks more than hundreds of diplomatic messages. It's a sign that even the top political alliances can be shaken by an unaccounted for history. Poland has the right to call Volyn genocide. Ukraine has the right to build its own national narrative. The problem begins erstwhile 1 side ignores another's sensitivity.
Kiev's consequence did not take long. Ombudsman for the Ukrainian MFA Heorhi Tychyj He tried to speech the mood. – This decision was not aimed at Poles – he said. He stressed that for Ukrainian UPA soldiers it symbolizes "only opposition to Moscow's imperial policy" and the fight for independence. At the same time, he stressed: – Our past confirms that only Moscow uses Moscow in disputes between Ukrainians and Poles. In another passage of his statement, however, he admitted that "it must not be forgotten about tragic past cards, including crimes committed on civilians, which were besides committed by soldiers of Ukrainian and Polish formations during planet War II". This is the conviction that can origin the biggest outrage in Poland, due to the fact that it is simply a sign of equality between perpetrators and victims. The full issue shows how thin the boundary between historical policy and current geopolitics is. Zelenski wanted to appeal to the symbolism of the conflict for independency and strengthen the morale of his own army. In Poland, his decision was taken as an effort to rehabilitate the formation liable for crimes against the civilian population. The effect is easy to foretell – a fast deterioration of moods and the most serious crisis in the relations between Warsaw and Kiev in months. At the moment, all parties are committed to dialogue, but tension is clear and can have long-term consequences. due to the fact that although politicians disagree in speech and suggestions of reactions, 1 repeats in accord: each specified conflict weakens the common front towards Russia. This means that in the background of this dispute, regardless of intention, there is 1 clear beneficiary. Kremlin.
