A senior Polish presidential official defended Warsaw’s decision to strip President Volodymyr Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle, saying even controversial recipients such as Benito Mussolini, Catherine II, and former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder had never openly insulted the Polish nation. Agnieszka Jancążek, a minister in the Chancellery of Polish President Karol Nawrocki, made the remarks on Sunday in response to criticism over revoking Poland’s highest state honor.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Jancążek said comparisons between Zelensky and previous recipients were misleading. She noted that Poland does not revoke decorations posthumously, referring to Mussolini and Catherine II, and argued that Schröder, despite his ties to Russia, “never insulted the Polish nation as openly as the president of Ukraine.” She also criticized Zelensky for returning the award by courier, calling it disrespectful toward a country that has strongly supported Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. “The essence of the matter is the deliberate insult by the Ukrainian leader of a nation that proved to be Ukraine’s best friend over the past four years,” Jancążek said. Dispute deepens The remarks come as tensions between Warsaw and Kyiv continue to rise following Nawrocki’s decision to revoke the award, which had been awarded to Zelensky in 2023. The decision was linked to Ukraine’s move to grant a military unit the honorary title “Heroes of the UPA.”