Polish PM appeals to Nawrocki, Zelensky for talks amid tensions
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has issued an appeal to Polish President Karol Nawrocki and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for "a direct and honest conversation" after a Ukrainian military unit was named after a WWII group that Poland considers criminal.
"Since diplomacy has yielded no results, I am turning publicly to Presidents Karol Nawrocki and Volodymyr Zelensky for a direct and honest conversation. Before emotions destroy our solidarity, which was born in the face of the Russian threat," Tusk wrote on X on Monday.
"Cooperation serves the interests of both our states and nations, while conflict serves Moscow's interests. This is surely obvious to all of us," Tusk added.
His comments came after Zelensky awarded one of Ukraine's Armed Forces units the honorary name "Heroes of the UPA," a move that drew criticism from Polish politicians. President Karol Nawrocki said he was outraged and announced he would propose stripping Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle.
The Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle, a council responsible for overseeing Poland's highest and oldest state decoration, was set to convene at 10am on Monday.
On Friday and Saturday, Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Ukrainian President's Office, held talks in Warsaw with representatives of the Polish president and government in a bid to reduce the tensions.
Poland considers the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) a criminal nationalist organisation, responsible for the killings of tens of thousands of Poles during World War Two in Volhynia, today western Ukraine.
The Volhynia massacre remains one of the most sensitive historical and diplomatic issues between Poland and Ukraine. Between 1943 and 1945, the UPA systematically murdered an estimated 60,000 to 100,000 ethnic Poles, mostly civilians, in Nazi-occupied Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, peaking during the 'Bloody Sunday' village attacks on July 11, 1943. (PAP)
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