Relations between Poland and Ukraine are in crisis after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded the honorary title of “Hero of the UPA” to a military unit.
The initials stand for the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which played a key role in the murder of 100,000 Polish civilians during World War II. Poland is marking a national day in memory of the victims on Saturday.
As Russia launches its full-scale invasion in 2022, Poland has provided extensive military assistance to Ukraine, including arms and equipment. Until recently, military cooperation between the neighboring countries, which both view Russia as an existential threat, was accepted by all political parties and was largely insulated from Poland’s domestic political disputes.
Long lasting ‘historical issues’
Poland’s far-right opposition is attacking the centre-right government over the delivery of Patriot interceptor missiles to Ukraine. The opposition has accused pro-EU Prime Minister Donald Tusk of endangering Poland’s own military security.
Polish Presidents Karol Nawrocki and Zelensky looked for a way out of the crisis on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday – but without success. “There has been a lot of tension in Polish-Ukrainian relations recently,” Nawrocki told reporters after the hour-long meeting. “We have not succeeded in resolving the historical issues,” he said. Hiding his skepticism about Ukraine’s ambitions to join the EU, Nawrocki said, glorification of the UPA is “non-negotiable”.
The controversy over Poland’s Patriot missiles was started by Krzysztof Bosak, leader of the ultranationalist National Movement. “In March, hiding from the Sejm, the government handed over expensive and hard-to-find interceptor missiles for the Patriot system,” Bošak, deputy speaker of the parliament, wrote on July 4. He said that the weapons the government supplied to Ukraine were necessary for Poland’s own national defense against Russia. The national movement has long demanded an end to military aid to Ukraine.
‘Increasing confrontational attitude’
Former Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Marcin Przydacz, now responsible for foreign policy in the President’s Office, called Bosak’s assumption “highly probable”. Przydacz accused the government of abandoning Poland’s place in the queue for US arms orders in favor of Ukraine. “Poles will have to wait longer,” Przemysław said.
Przemyslaw Czarneck, likely to be the national conservative Law and Justice party’s top candidate in the 2027 parliamentary elections, said Poland “has been deprived of strategic weapons without the knowledge of the parliament and the president.”
“Ukraine has not treated Poland like a partner for the past two years and is adopting an increasingly confrontational approach,” Czarnyk said.
The Tusk government took a risky step to reduce opposition criticism. Defense Minister Władysław Kosyniak-Kamycz published previously secret data on the scale of Poland’s military aid since the start of the war. According to the data, Poland has spent 16.45 billion zloty (€3.8 billion/$4.35 billion) since Russia’s invasion, with the largest part of that amount – 14.9 billion zloty – paid during the PiS government in 2022–2023.
Which defenses were compromised?
The decision to assign PAC-3 interceptor missiles for the Patriot system was made at the request of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Commander of US Forces in Europe Alexey Grinkevich. Defense Minister Kosiniak-Kamycz said Poland’s air defense has not been compromised in any way. He said that President Nawrocki has been briefed in detail about this plan.
Polish media highlight a contradiction: until recently the government and opposition were competing over who had done more for Ukraine. Now, both sides are accusing each other of providing too much weapons to Ukraine. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki was a firm supporter of military aid. “That was the deal: We provide you with 50-year-old tanks and you fight and shed your blood,” he said. “I think it was a good deal for us.”
The deterioration in relations between Poland and Ukraine is leading to another arms exchange. The Polish government has promised to deliver MiG fighter aircraft to Ukraine by the end of 2025. In return, Poland was to receive modern drone technology from Ukraine. According to the Polish government, Kiev demanded that Poland modernize the jets before moving forward on the deal. Warsaw refused to do so, although Defense Minister Kosyniak-Kamycz said the deal was definitely not off the table.
European Parliament’s stance
On Wednesday the European Parliament adopted a resolution classifying Zelensky’s UPA honor as an unnecessary and unprovoked escalation of the dispute between the neighbours. Members of the European Parliament described the award as incompatible with EU values, but urged both Poland and Ukraine to restart the reconciliation process.
Nawrocki reacted to Zelenskiy’s honoring of a Ukrainian army unit by stripping him of Poland’s highest award, the Order of the White Eagle. Zelensky sent the order back by courier – and went one step further. At his request, Ukraine’s parliament passed a law in July to establish a national pantheon – essentially a state-sanctioned memorial site or institution intended to honor historical and military figures whom the government considers heroes, including units associated with the UPA. Zelensky said, “No one will ever force us to learn how to live and speak, whom to love, whom we should be grateful to and which heroes we should honor.”
In Poland, July 11 is observed as an official day of remembrance of the Volhynia massacre, in which the UPA attacked Polish-majority villages in February 1943 in order to create favorable conditions for the Ukrainian nation-state after World War II. On 11 July 1943, a day celebrated by Poles as “Bloody Sunday”, 99 locations were attacked.
Zelensky’s chief of staff, Kirill Budanov, expects tensions with Poland to escalate around the anniversary. “This climax is sure to come soon,” he said. “This is no secret. July 11 is the anniversary of the Volhynia tragedy. The information I have provided shows that the Polish side is preparing actions that will escalate tensions.”
This article was originally published in German.