Zelenskiy aide gives up Polish medal as WW2 dispute strains ties
Why it matters: The clash risks widening a rift between two key allies as Ukraine seeks support against Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Kyrylo Budanov, said he was giving up a Polish state medal after Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped Zelenskiy of Poland’s top honor in a dispute over World War II history. Nawrocki revoked the Order of the White Eagle after Zelenskiy renamed a military unit for Ukrainian insurgents blamed for massacres of Poles during the war. Budanov returned the Golden Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, calling the move by Nawrocki “a gift” for Russia. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the decision a strategic error, while Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk urged both sides to stay calm.