Tusk urges Nawrocki and Zelenskyy to show restraint amid dispute over Polish state award

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has criticised the escalating dispute between the country's PresidentKarol Nawrocki and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, warning that public tensions between Warsaw and Kyiv serve Russia's interests.

Commenting on Nawrocki's decision to revoke the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest state honour, from Zelenskyy, Tusk said any conflict between Poland and Ukraine under the current geopolitical circumstances was destructive.

“A conflict between Poland and Ukraine delights Putin and shocks our allies. The task of Presidents Zelenskyy and Nawrocki is to restrain emotions, not escalate tensions. The front line is elsewhere,” Tusk said.

Nawrocki formally decided on Friday to strip Zelenskyy of the award, which had been presented to the Ukrainian president in April 2023 by former Polish President Andrzej Duda.

The Polish President said the decision was linked to Zelenskyy's reported support for granting a Ukrainian military unit the name of the “Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.” Nawrocki stressed that the move was not directed against the Ukrainian people and that Poland would continue supporting Ukraine in its defence against Russian aggression.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described Nawrocki's decision as a strategic mistake. He said he no longer saw a possibility of keeping the highest state honour awarded to him by Poland in October 2022 and would return it to the Polish authorities in the near future.