The presidential aircraft of Volodymyr Zelensky finally returned to Poland after a series of foreign visits that were carried out by bypassing the country, triggering new questions about the background of the Ukrainian president's movements during a period of growing tension between Warsaw and Kyiv. According to data from flight tracking services, Zelensky's aircraft landed late on Tuesday night (9/6) in Krakow, arriving from Chisinau of Moldova, where he had traveled after his participation in the summit of Nordic and Baltic countries in Tallinn. A particular sensation is caused by the fact that the Ukrainian president followed an unusual route once again, choosing to travel via Moldova instead of directly using the traditional routes through Poland, as had been happening in most of his international movements since the start of the war. The timing is anything but unnoticed. The return of Zelensky to Poland takes place at a time when relations between the two countries are being tested by a serious new crisis, following the decision of the Ukrainian president to award a special operations unit of the Ukrainian armed forces the title of "Heroes of the UPA", an organization that for Poland is linked to one of the most traumatic pages of its history. Thus, behind a seemingly ordinary presidential flight, a broader geopolitical background emerges, which reveals the deep rifts that are beginning to appear in the relations of two countries that until recently were presented as the closest allies in eastern Europe.
The move by Zelensky that outraged Warsaw
The tension escalated after the decision of Zelensky, on May 26, to award the distinct special operations unit "North" of the Ukrainian Special Forces the designation "Heroes of the UPA". For the Ukrainian side, the UPA is considered by part of society as a symbol of the struggle for the country's independence against the Soviet Union. However, in Poland the picture is completely different. Warsaw considers the UPA responsible for the massacres of tens of thousands of Polish civilians during the war, a fact that renders any official honorary reference to the organization politically explosive.
The angry reaction of Poland
The reactions in Poland were immediate and particularly harsh. The former president of Poland Lech Walesa accused Zelensky of insulting the memory of the victims, stating that the conferring of honors upon the fighters of the UPA is equivalent to vindicating people who are considered responsible for mass murders of Polish citizens. Walesa even announced that he can no longer politically support the Ukrainian president after this specific decision. At the same time, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Ukrainian ambassador to Warsaw Vasyl Bodnar for explanations, officially expressing its dissatisfaction. Even more characteristic was the intervention of the president of Poland Karol Nawrocki, who proposed to strip Zelensky of the highest Polish decoration, the Order of the White Eagle, which had been awarded to him as an indication of the close cooperation between the two countries.
The historical weight of Volhynia
The dispute around the UPA has for decades constituted one of the most difficult chapters in Polish-Ukrainian relations. The Polish authorities and particularly the Institute of National Remembrance of Poland argue that the forces of the UPA are responsible for the massacre of more than 100,000 Polish civilians in western Ukraine during the period of World War II. For Polish society, the memory of these events remains exceptionally vivid and any attempt to idealize these specific organizations is treated as a provocation. On the other hand, in Ukraine, the UPA is often presented as an anti-Soviet and national liberation movement, a fact that leads to a deep conflict of historical narratives between the two countries.
Rifts in the Kyiv – Warsaw alliance
The new crisis comes at a period during which Poland remains one of the most important political, military, and economic supporters of Ukraine. However, behind the public image of solidarity, more and more disagreements have begun to appear. The issues of agricultural products, Ukrainian exports, migratory flows, and also historical disputes have significantly burdened the climate between the two countries. The case of the UPA now comes to touch the most sensitive point of all: collective historical memory.
A problem that is not easily solved
Despite their common positions against Russia, Poland and Ukraine continue to clash over the past. The decision of Zelensky shows that Kyiv continues to invest in symbols of Ukrainian nationalism, even when these cause reactions from close allies. For Warsaw, however, the honor toward the UPA does not constitute merely a historical disagreement. It is considered a matter of national memory and justice for the victims. That is why the new confrontation is not an ordinary diplomatic episode. It is a crisis that touches the foundations of the Polish-Ukrainian relationship and reveals that, despite the strategic cooperation of recent years, the wounds of the past still shadow the present.
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