Polish Official Says Zelensky Should Apologize Over UPA Row

A senior aide to Polish President Karol Nawrocki said on Monday, June 1, that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should call and apologize to the Polish leader over Kyiv’s decision to name a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).

According to the RMF FM, Marcin Przydacz, head of Poland’s Bureau of International Policy, made the remarks during an interview with Polsat News as political tensions continue to grow between Warsaw and Kyiv over the issue.

“I think President Zelensky should call the president of Poland and, first, apologize, and second, explain the entire situation,” Przydacz said.

He described Zelensky’s decision as “scandalous” and praised Nawrocki’s response as appropriate.

The comments follow Nawrocki’s announcement last week that he would seek to revoke Poland’s highest state honor, the Order of the White Eagle, previously awarded to Zelensky.

Dispute over state honor continues

Nawrocki said on  May 29, that he would ask the chapter of the Order of the White Eagle to consider stripping Zelensky of the award during a June 8 meeting.

The Polish president argued that Kyiv’s decision to grant the honorary title “Heroes of the UPA” to the Separate Special Operations Center “North” damaged Polish-Ukrainian relations and provided material for Russian propaganda.

Przydacz said he could not imagine Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk refusing to approve such a decision if it moved forward.

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“I cannot imagine this out of respect for the more than one hundred thousand murdered Poles and their families,” he said.

The presidential aide also suggested that Poland could reconsider certain aspects of its support for Ukraine, though he stressed that Russia remains Poland’s primary security threat.

“You can sometimes send something a little later. Sometimes you can send a different signal,” Przydacz said when asked about proposals by opposition politicians to reduce aid to Kyiv.

Historical dispute resurfaces

The controversy began after Zelensky signed a decree granting the honorary title “Heroes of the UPA” to an elite Ukrainian military unit.

The Ukrainian president said the move was intended to restore “historical traditions of the national military” and recognize the unit’s role in defending Ukraine’s territorial integrity and independence.

The decision drew criticism from Polish officials and institutions, including the Institute of National Remembrance and Poland’s foreign ministry.

“This decision hurts the memory of the victims of this organization and undermines dialogue between our nations,” foreign ministry spokesperson Maciej Wewiór said last week.

The dispute centers on differing interpretations of the legacy of the UPA, which fought for an independent Ukrainian state during and after World War II.

In Ukraine, the organization is widely viewed as part of the broader struggle against both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. In Poland, however, the UPA is primarily associated with the killings of tens of thousands of Polish civilians in Volhynia and parts of Eastern Galicia in 1943-44, events that Poland officially classifies as genocide.

Ukrainian officials have rejected suggestions that the recent designation was directed against Poland.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said that the decision was “not aimed against Poles” and expressed regret over the backlash.

“We see a sharp reaction in Poland to the decision to give one of the Ukrainian units a name commemorating the heroes of the UPA,” Tykhyi wrote on social media.

“It is unfortunate because it runs counter to the broader trend of resolving difficult issues in Ukrainian-Polish relations that we have observed over the past year and a half.”

Prime Minister Donald Tusk also urged restraint, saying both presidents should rise above historical emotions and protect relations between the two neighboring countries.