President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has recently signed a decree honoring World War II partisan fighters. This decision has heightened tensions with Poland.

On June 21, 2026, President Karol Nawrocki of Poland announced plans to revoke the country’s highest state award given to President Zelensky. In response, Zelensky declared he would return the award.

The conflict stems from Zelensky’s May 26 decree honoring Ukrainian nationalist fighters. These figures, part of the Ukrainian Partisan Army (UPA), are seen by Poland as responsible for the killing of tens of thousands of Polish civilians during the Volhynia Genocide in 1943. Meanwhile, Ukrainians recall them as fighters against the Soviet Union.

This historical disagreement jeopardizes the close alliance between Poland and Ukraine, crucial for maintaining the eastern front against Russian expansion. Much of the military support from the U.S. and Europe to Ukraine is transported through Poland.

The underground struggle involving the UPA during and after World War II in western Ukraine remains the major historical issue between the two nations. Unified in their opposition to Russia, both countries had worked to resolve past disputes since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Zelensky’s decree honoring the UPA rekindled past animosities.