Polish MP calls for blocking Ukraine’s EU accession over UPA dispute

The diplomatic crisis between Poland and Ukraine escalated sharply after President Zelensky awarded an elite military unit the honorary name “Heroes of the UPA”: a former Polish ambassador to Kyiv returned a Ukrainian decoration, the President of Poland announced his intention to strip Zelensky of the country’s highest state order, and the Deputy Speaker of the Sejm demanded that Ukraine’s EU accession be blocked.

On May 26, Zelensky signed Decree No. 440/2026, awarding the Separate Special Operations Center “Pivnich” of Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces the honorary name “Heroes of the UPA.” Zelensky stated that the move was intended to “restore the historical traditions of the national army.” In Poland, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army is held responsible for the mass killing of ethnic Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia in 1943–1944.

The decree provoked an immediate negative reaction in Warsaw. Bartosz Cichocki, former Polish ambassador to Kyiv, returned the Order of Merit he had received from Zelensky in 2022. In an interview with radio station RMF FM, he said he was returning the award because of Ukrainian decisions “glorifying the UPA and a collaborator of the German Nazis.” At the same time, Cichocki stressed that he remains ready to support any Ukrainian who fights against “Russian aggression,” historical lies, and corruption. The diplomat earned wide respect for remaining in the Ukrainian capital in the first days of the full-scale invasion, when most foreign embassies had been evacuated.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki announced his intention to strip Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle — the country’s highest state decoration, which his predecessor Andrzej Duda had presented to the Ukrainian leader in April 2023. Nawrocki said the Order’s Chapter would convene on June 8 to consider the proposal, though the final decision rests with him as president. In his words, the glorification of the UPA shows that Ukraine is “mentally not ready to be part of the European community.” Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the naming of the unit “alarming from the point of view of our relations and trampling on our historical memory.”

On Monday, Krzysztof Bosak, Deputy Speaker of the Sejm and leader of the far-right Confederation party, called on Poland to block Ukraine’s accession to the European Union until Kyiv “renounces the cult of criminals.” The threat carries real weight: EU membership requires the unanimous approval of all 27 member states, and Ukraine is seeking to have all six negotiating clusters opened by Brussels as early as June.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said on May 29 that “only Moscow benefits from disputes between Ukrainians and Poles,” warning that the conflict serves Russian interests.