PiS heavyweights return Ukrainian decorations in escalating row over Volhynia and EU accession

A row over UPA

On 19 June 2026, Polish president Karol Nawrocki stripped Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest decoration, after Zelensky approved naming a Ukrainian military unit after the 'Heroes of UPA' – a reference to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, responsible for the 1943–1944 Volhynia massacres. Zelensky promptly returned the order to Warsaw; the presidential chancellery stated it would be placed in deposit and never awarded again. In solidarity, former Ukrainian presidents Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Yushchenko and Petro Poroshenko returned their Polish state awards.

PiS leaders join the return

On 25 June, PiS chairman Jarosław Kaczyński said he would hand back his Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, second class, received from Zelensky in 2022.

“It will be an expression of my attitude not so much towards Ukrainians as towards Ukrainian elites. On the other hand, it is an act of loyalty to our president”

he told a press conference. A day later, former defence minister Mariusz Błaszczak, former foreign minister Zbigniew Rau, former Sejm speaker Marek Kuchciński, and presidential social advisor Jacek Saryusz-Wolski issued a joint statement committing to return their Ukrainian decorations. MEP Adam Bielan followed with his own declaration.

“Out of respect for the victims of the Volhynia crime and loyalty to President Karol Nawrocki, and as an expression of opposition to the escalation of the conflict by Ukrainian political elites - we return the received Ukrainian decorations.”

Błaszczak, who received the Order 'For Merits' first class in August 2022 (or 2023, per one source), described his move as solidarity with families still denied dignified commemoration.

“True reconciliation can only be built on the foundation of truth and respect for the victims.”

Bielan, returning his third-class Order 'For Merits', stressed the gesture was not against the Ukrainian nation and that Poland must continue supporting Ukraine's war effort.

“I expect the Ukrainian side to come to its senses and immediately abandon identity politics based on the bestial crime and the Volhynia lie.”

A split inside PiS

Not everyone in the ruling party agrees. Former head of the Prime Minister's Chancellery Michał Dworczyk, decorated for his role in organising humanitarian and military aid in 2022, said he would keep his awards.

“I will not return these decorations. I treat them as a token of respect for Poles, because it was Poles who organised help for Ukrainians fleeing war, and for the Polish state, whose government took tough decisions.”

He argued the crisis demands a focus on the future. Separate interviews by Fakt24 with three other 2026 recipients of the third-class Order 'For Merits' – Rafał Miastowski, mayor of Mokotów, Mirosław Skórka, head of the Union of Ukrainians in Poland, and online creator Mateusz 'Exen' Wodziński – signalled that none planned to follow the PiS politicians' lead. Miastowski called the decoration a recognition for all Poles who aided Ukraine.

EU accession caught in the crossfire

The row is now spilling into EU policy. Kaczyński, while insisting it was a personal view, called on 25 June for blocking further stages of Ukraine's EU membership negotiations until Kyiv meets what he called clear conditions: acknowledgement of guilt, an apology, exhumations, and a dignified burial of all Volhynia victims. He added that Poland should nonetheless continue to support Ukraine militarily against Russia, as this remains a strategic interest.