Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped President Volodymyr Zelensky of the country's honorary Order of the White Eagle title on June 19 following public outcry over Zelensky's decision to name a serving Ukrainian military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).A World War II-era organization that fought for Ukraine's independence, the UPA is remembered in Poland primarily for its role in the massacres of Polish civilians in the Volyn region — one of the most painful chapters in the Ukrainian-Polish history."We must not betray the sacrifices of our ancestors with silence. These are graves that must not be forgotten," Nawrocki said in a video address. "Poland has repeatedly signaled to the Ukrainian side the particular importance of this issue. We have conveyed our position and our expectation that the consequences of this decision for relations between our countries be reconsidered. Ultimately, the Ukrainian side’s position has not changed," the Polish president added. That decision has inflamed Polish politics, with Polish officials and public figures, particularly among the country's conservative political figures, widely criticizing the decision.The revocation drew condemnation from Kyiv with Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha calling the decision a "strategic mistake... from which only Moscow benefits.""We regret that emotions have prevailed in Warsaw and have pushed Polish politicians to take unjustified, impulsive, and disrespectful steps not only toward President Zelensky, but primarily toward the Ukrainian state," Sybiha continued, adding that in light of the revocation he is refusing the Commander’s Cross award previously conferred onto him by Warsaw. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha previously assured Polish partners that the Ukrainian soldiers who requested the title "had absolutely no anti-Polish intent.""For them, it was about honoring those who, similarly many years ago, fought against imperial Moscow, Bolshevik-communist occupation, and repression," Sybiha said.In a thinly veiled threat, Nawrocki further warned Ukraine about the importance of maintaining relations with Ukraine days after the EU opened the first of six so-called enlargement clusters with Kyiv."Ukraine’s path toward European structures also requires a willingness to honestly confront the difficult chapters of its own history. A united Europe was built on the rejection of totalitarianism and the cult of violence. These principles must apply to everyone," Nawrocki said. "For those who do not understand this, there can be no place in the European Union, and Poland will certainly not allow it."A poll conducted earlier this month found that 52% of Poles say their attitude toward Ukraine and Ukrainians has worsened due to Kyiv renaming the military unit.Poland has been a close ally of Kyiv since the outbreak of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, providing a key logistical route for military aid flowing to Ukraine and currently hosting close to 1 million Ukrainian refugees. However, relations between the two neighbors have been marked by periods of tension in recent years, often over unresolved historical grievances.Despite the latest controversy, Nawrocki said that "nothing has changed" in regards to Warsaw's continued support of Ukraine amid Russia's full-scale invasion. "We have supported and continue to support Ukraine because we know that Russian aggression poses a threat to the security of Poland and all of Europe," he said. "Russia is the aggressor, and Putin is a criminal who bears responsibility for unleashing a war that has brought Europe its biggest armed conflict since the end of World War II."