A former member of the Polish Sejm returned the Gold Cross of Merit to the president
Piotr Fogler, a former member of the Polish Sejm, returned his state award—the “Golden Cross of Merit”—to the president as a sign of protest and solidarity with Ukraine.
Fogler stated that his decision stemmed from his disagreement with the revocation of the order by the President of Ukraine, which he described as a nation at war.
“Symbolically, I am returning my award to this president in protest against the senseless decision to strip the President of Ukraine—a country that is fighting—of his order! This is not a gesture directed at the president who presented me with this award, as I respect him, but rather at the current occupant of the Belvedere…,” his post reads.
The politician also sharply criticized the current Polish head of state, declaring his decisions regarding Ukraine to be unacceptable.
Fogler’s gesture was yet another public manifestation of the political debate in Poland surrounding relations with Ukraine and the issue of state awards.
The politician announced this on Facebook.
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman announced that he had returned the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, which he received in 2011 for developing regional cooperation between Ukrainian and Polish cities.
On June 20, former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko also announced that he was renouncing his Polish state order, emphasizing that this step was not directed against the Polish people; at the same time, he also made critical remarks about incumbent President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Earlier, Zelenskyy had sent Navrotsky the Order of the White Eagle via Nova Poshta.
Following this, Leonid Kuchma declined the Polish Order of the White Eagle.
Ukraine’s third president, Viktor Yushchenko, also declined the Polish Order of the White Eagle.
In addition, Borys Tarasyuk will return his Polish order due to Navrotsky’s policies.
