Ukraine Seeks Dialogue with Poland on WWII Unit Naming
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha defended the naming, saying the unit's soldiers "had not the slightest anti-Polish intentions."
"Their aim was to honor those who, many years ago, also fought against imperial Moscow, Bolshevik-communist occupation and repression," he wrote on US social media platform X.
Sybiha appealed for both nations to "reduce the level of emotions," leave issues of shared history to professional historians and focus on their "common enemy" as well as strengthening European security.
"The escalation of tensions between Ukraine and Poland brings no benefits to either Ukrainians or Poles," he said.
The minister pointed to nearly two years of painstaking diplomatic groundwork between the two countries — including the resumption of exhumations and reburials of war victims and the relaunch of a historians' congress to tackle contentious historical questions through archival research and scholarly debate.
"It must not be undermined or fuel a spiral of hatred," he said. "All the more so in a situation where, over all of us—Ukrainians, Poles, and other Europeans—the threat from our age-old enemy, Russia, looms once again."
Sybiha also acknowledged Poland's outsized contribution to Ukraine's war effort, thanking Warsaw for its "leading role" in backing Kyiv against Russia, and expressing willingness to work through all outstanding issues, "including the most difficult ones," in a spirit of mutual understanding and openness.
The diplomatic row was ignited on May 26, when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree granting a special operations unit the honorary title of "Heroes of the UPA," framing the move as part of a broader effort to restore the historical traditions of Ukraine's national military forces.
The decision immediately triggered outrage across Poland's political spectrum. Polish President Karol Nawrocki announced plans to pursue the revocation of the Order of the White Eagle — Poland's highest state honor — which had been awarded to Zelenskyy in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion.
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