Former Ukrainian President Kuchma declined the Polish Order of the White Eagle
On June 20, former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma declined the Polish Order of the White Eagle, which he had been awarded in 1997. He took this step as a sign of support for Ukraine’s current leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had been stripped of the award by Polish President Karol Nawrocki.
“Throughout my presidency, I considered building friendly relations with Poland to be one of my top priorities. Together with my colleague Aleksander Kwaśniewski, we made every effort to achieve this. We paid special attention to resolving historical issues in relations between our nations, which resulted in our joint 2003 statement on reconciliation. We forgive and ask for forgiveness—it was precisely this principle that President Kwaśniewski and I developed under the spiritual guidance of the great Pole, Pope John Paul II. For decades, this principle has worked. A true friendship between Ukraine and Poland has become a reality. It is confirmed by the invaluable assistance that Poland has provided to Ukraine from the very first hours of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion. And I am confident that President Navrotsky’s current unfriendly move cannot undo all of this. But today I have no choice but to decline this high Polish order. “Ukraine did not take up arms against Russia—which justified its invasion with historical claims—so that other countries could now dictate our history to us and determine whom we should honor,” the former president stated.
Leonid Kuchma’s statement was published on the Facebook page of the press secretary of the Leonid Kuchma Foundation “Ukraine.”
As a reminder, Zelenskyy sent the Order of the White Eagle to Navrotsky via Nova Poshta.
The decision to revoke Poland’s highest state award, the Order of the White Eagle, from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not a unilateral act by the president. Under Polish procedure, the president may initiate the revocation of an award, but the relevant act requires the countersignature (co-signature) of the Polish prime minister.
In response to the Polish president’s actions, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga stated that he would return his state award to Poland.
Dnipro Mayor Boris Filatov reacted to Polish President Karol Navrotsky’s decision to revoke Poland’s highest state award, the Order of the White Eagle, from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He called the Polish leader a liar and a manipulator.
