Zelenskyy returns Polish honor after president revokes it in history dispute

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy has returned Poland's highest state honor, after the Polish president stripped him of the award as a politically charged dispute over World War II history resurfaced. Ukrainians believed the order "was meant for the Ukrainian People and our army," Zelenskyy wrote in a social media post explaining the gesture. "Today, I sent the Order back to the President of Poland. I believe the future will confirm the respect Ukrainians deserve." The message published on X is accompanied by photos of the Polish order and a postal receipt that it was about to be mailed to the Polish presidential office. Polish President Karol Nawrocki, left, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend an official welcome ceremony before their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, Dec. 19, 2025. Czarek Sokolowski / AP Photo President Karol Nawrocki decided to strip Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle over the Ukrainian leader's decision to name a military unit after a Ukrainian paramilitary organization accused of massacring Poles during WWII. Former Polish President Andrzej Duda bestowed the award on Zelenskyy in 2023 for services to security, resilience and the defense of human rights. Zelenskyy issued a decree on May 26 naming a unit of Ukraine's Special Operations Forces after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA, which operated during the 1940s and 1950s and has been accused in Poland of mass killings. …