Asked, “Poland and Ukraine have disagreements over historical issues. Which approach do you support most?”, 57% of respondents said each country can maintain its own interpretation of history and should not interfere with how the other views it.
Another 33% said both countries should seek to develop a shared understanding of their common history through mutual compromises and joint commissions of historians rather than politicians.
Meanwhile, 4% of respondents said Poland should change its position and adopt Ukraine’s interpretation of shared history, while 1% said Ukraine should meet all of Poland’s demands and generally adhere to the Polish interpretation. Another 5% said they were undecided.
The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted the survey between June 17 and June 23, 2026, using telephone interviews with 1,005 respondents. The margin of error does not exceed 1.8% to 4.1%.
Revocation of Zelenskyy’s Order of the White Eagle
On June 19, Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest state honor. Nawrocki said the decision was prompted by the naming of a Ukrainian military unit after UPA heroes, arguing that the move “goes far beyond Ukraine’s internal affairs” and is offensive to Poland.
The issue is linked to the Volhynia massacres, a period of ethnic violence between Poles and Ukrainians in Volhynia and Galicia in 1943-44, in which the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) was involved.
Commenting on the move, Zelenskyy compared Nawrocki to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, saying he was using Ukraine-related issues to gain political support and describing the dispute as “a story that will end badly.”
The decision triggered a broader diplomatic response from Ukrainian officials. On the same day, June 19, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said he was relinquishing the Commander’s Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.
Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, subsequently announced he was returning his Officer’s Golden Cross of the same order, while Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland, Vasyl Bodnar, said he would return his Knight’s Cross.
In a show of solidarity, former Ukrainian presidents Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Yushchenko and Petro Poroshenko also announced they were returning their previously awarded Orders of the White Eagle.