Zelensky returns Poland’s highest honor amid escalating row over nationalist wartime unit (opens original article in a new tab)

Ukrainian President Zelensky returned Poland's highest honor after the Polish president revoked it over a dispute about a Ukrainian military unit named after a WWII paramilitary group accused of massacring Poles.

• Ukrainian President Zelensky returned Poland's highest honor, the Order of the White Eagle, after Poland's president revoked it over a dispute about a Ukrainian military unit named after a WWII paramilitary group accused of massacring Poles.
• Poland's president, Karol Nawrocki, cited the Ukrainian leader's decision to name a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), which has been accused of mass killings during WWII, as the reason for revoking the honor.
• Zelensky's move to rename the unit was criticized in Poland, where the UPA is viewed as responsible for crimes against Poles, despite Ukraine's claim that the designation aimed to restore military traditions and recognize the unit's role in defending Ukraine.