A disgraceful act by Poland’s president.

President Karol Nawrocki has stripped Volodymyr Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle — Poland’s highest state honor — after a Ukrainian Special Operations Forces unit was named after UPA heroes.

Zelensky received the award from former President Andrzej Duda in April 2023 in recognition of his contribution to strengthening Polish-Ukrainian relations.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the decision: “We regret that emotions have prevailed in Warsaw and led Polish politicians to take unjustified, impulsive, and disrespectful steps directed not only against President Zelensky, but above all against the Ukrainian state. The decision to strip the President of Ukraine of the Order of the White Eagle is a strategic mistake that will benefit only Moscow.”

Sybiha also announced that he was renouncing his own Polish state decoration, the Commander’s Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.

Nawrocki has not merely insulted President Zelensky. He has insulted the Ukrainian people, who for five years have been fighting a brutal war against russia and, in doing so, have helped defend all of Europe — including Poland.

History will judge who truly strengthened Polish-Ukrainian friendship, and who weakened it for short-term political gain.