Polish premier urges dialogue with Ukrainian president amid dispute over military unit

Poland’s premier on Monday called for direct talks with Ukraine’s president over Kyiv’s controversial decision to name a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a nationalist force responsible for the massacre of tens of thousands of ethnic Poles during World War II.

Donald Tusk publicly appealed to Polish President Karol Nawrocki and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy to undetake "a direct and sincere conversation before emotions destroy the solidarity that was born in the face of the Russian threat."

"Cooperation is in the interest of both our states and nations, while conflict serves Moscow's interests. That should be obvious to all of us," he wrote on US social media platform X.

On May 26, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree granting a special operations unit the honorary title of “Heroes of the UPA,” describing the decision as part of efforts to restore the historical traditions of Ukraine’s national military forces.

The move immediately triggered outrage across the Polish political spectrum.

President Karol Nawrocki announced plans to seek the revocation of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest state distinction, awarded to Zelenskyy after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022.