Poland’s President Strips Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle in a Move Aimed at Undermining Tusk

Revocation of the Order of the White Eagle

According to ХВИЛЯ: Polish President Karol Nawrocki has revoked the Order of the White Eagle previously awarded to Volodymyr Zelensky, a decision announced just one week before the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk (URC 2026). This move is driven by domestic political motives, specifically intended to disrupt a potential triumph for Prime Minister Donald Tusk and to shift public attention away from a scandal involving VIP healthcare privileges for select politicians at a Warsaw hospital.

The URC 2026 Conference and Its Fallout

The URC 2026 conference is a flagship initiative for both Tusk and Zelensky. Securing investments and hosting world leaders at this event could have provided Tusk with significant political leverage ahead of the 2027 parliamentary elections. However, the VIP medicine scandal has dealt a blow to the Civic Coalition party in the pre-election period. The decision to revoke the award was made public on a Friday evening, further escalating tensions in Polish-Ukrainian relations.

Following the announcement, Zelensky returned the medal on his own initiative, without awaiting Tusk’s countersignature. Donald Tusk publicly voiced his support for Kyiv, stating that

“under no circumstances would I have signed anti-Ukrainian initiatives from the Nawrocki administration”

and emphasizing that quarrels with Ukraine ‘bring joy to Putin and shock to our allies’.

A senior official from the Prime Minister’s Office noted that Nawrocki appeared intent on ‘pushing relations with Ukrainians to a breaking point and securing the cancellation of Zelensky’s visit to the Gdańsk conference’. This decision has sparked debate in political circles, given its potential repercussions for Ukrainian-Polish relations.

President Nawrocki’s move may signal a shift in Poland’s political stance toward Ukraine, as well as deeper internal conflicts within Polish politics. The strain in bilateral ties-particularly regarding Tusk’s backing of Ukraine-could affect future diplomatic initiatives and economic cooperation between the two nations. The URC 2026 conference, originally envisioned as a platform for collaboration, now risks being overshadowed by political maneuvering on Poland’s domestic front.

This controversial revocation has drawn attention to the increasing anti-Ukrainian sentiments that are emerging within Poland, as noted by Tusk. The implications of these sentiments could further complicate the already tense Polish-Ukrainian relations, especially in light of the upcoming political events and the ongoing scandal affecting the Civic Coalition party.