Czech SPD pushes to revoke Zelenskyy's Order of the White Lion, citing Poland's example

The proposal

Jindřich Rajchl, leader of the PRO party within the SPD parliamentary club, announced on 30 June that his group will push for the Chamber of Deputies to appeal to President Petr Pavel to strip Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Lion. The move mirrors Poland's recent revocation of the Order of the White Eagle after Zelenskyy named a special unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). Rajchl said he wants the whole chamber to sign the appeal and will first raise the matter at a coalition council meeting.

“We cannot remain silent when our highest state award is held by a person who names military units after Nazi monsters.”

Historical grievances

Rajchl argued that UPA units murdered tens of thousands of Poles, Jews, and Czechs, and that they continued killing Czechoslovak citizens until 1947, when they were defeated by Czechoslovak soldiers in "Action B" (the letter B standing for Banderites). The naming of the unit has reignited historical tensions across Central Europe, with Poland and now Czech politicians linking the honour to wartime atrocities.

Poland's precedent

On 19 June, Polish President Karol Nawrocki revoked Zelenskyy's Order of the White Eagle after consulting the order's chapter. Rajchl claimed the decision enjoyed total political consensus in Poland, saying, "Absolutely everyone. The coalition. The opposition. Lech Wałęsa. Everyone, completely everyone." Zelenskyy later returned the order, stating that if the award could remain in the company of figures like Catherine II, Benito Mussolini, or Gerhard Schröder, Ukraine would not engage in the matter.

Legal and political hurdles

Czech law permits revoking a state award only upon a final court conviction carrying at least two years' imprisonment for a particularly reprehensible intentional crime. No such circumstances apply, making the proposal unlikely to succeed. Opposition parties, including the Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL), TOP 09, and Mayors and Independents (STAN), have already condemned the initiative as "shameful" and an "unnecessary provocation."

The award's origin

Zelenskyy received the Order of the White Lion in October 2022 from then-President Miloš Zeman. The honour recognised his courage in refusing a US evacuation offer and remaining in Kyiv after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.