Sikorski: Poland expects Ukraine to correct the UPA decree — negotiations ongoing

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has stated that Warsaw expects the Ukrainian side to correct President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decree granting a military unit the name “named after the Heroes of the UPA.”

This was reported by the Polish outlet Polsat News.

Sikorski spoke at a meeting with residents of Tarnogród in the Lublin Voivodeship, responding to a question about the Ukrainian president’s decree.

“I believe President Zelensky made a mistake,” the minister said.

According to him, history is complex and not all heroes need to be honored by other countries, but there are limits. Sikorski stressed that Ukraine and Poland perceive the UPA differently: the Ukrainian side associates it with resistance to Soviet rule, while Poles associate it with Volhynia.

“I expect the Ukrainian side to take our sensitivities into account,” he added.

The head of the Polish Foreign Ministry said that behind-the-scenes negotiations on the matter are ongoing and expressed hope that Ukraine will find a way to correct the decree. At the same time, he cautioned against escalating the conflict, stating that Poland has the right to be disappointed and to demand a correction, but cannot allow the Russian narrative to divide the two countries.

“Because then both Ukraine and Poland will lose,” Sikorski said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Polish Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said on TVP Info that he would discuss the issue with Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov this week.

“It will not be the only topic of conversation, but it is very important to me,” he stressed.

Kosiniak-Kamysz spoke out against President Karol Nawrocki’s proposal to strip Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle, calling such a discussion unproductive and capable of provoking extreme anti-Ukrainian sentiment. He said the goal should be to secure the revocation of the UPA decree itself.

Polish Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration Marcin Kierwiński also stated that Warsaw has the right to call Zelensky’s actions unacceptable, but criticized Nawrocki’s idea.

“It is inappropriate when the President of Poland unhesitatingly resorts to a kind of media stunt to show that he is supposedly tough,” Kierwiński said.

According to him, beyond historical truth, there is also a cool-headed assessment of the geopolitical situation.

On May 26, Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree granting the Separate Special Operations Center “North” the honorary name “named after the Heroes of the UPA.” The decree was justified by the unit’s exemplary fulfillment of combat missions and the restoration of historical traditions of a Ukrainian military formation. The decision triggered a wave of criticism in Poland: Prime Minister Donald Tusk said it “raises concern” and “offends Polish historical sensitivities.” Nawrocki proposed that the Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle put to a vote on June 8 the question of revoking Zelensky’s order — an award the Ukrainian president received in 2023 from then-President of Poland Andrzej Duda.