Poll shows Poland divided after Zelenskyy is stripped of White Eagle honor
Polish President Karol Nawrocki and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Photo: REUTERS/Kacper Pempel)
Poles are sharply divided over how the decision to strip
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle will
affect Poland’s international standing, according to a survey by SW Research
for Onet.
The poll found no clear consensus in Poland over whether the
move strengthens Warsaw’s position abroad or weakens it.
The results broke down as follows:
- 36.4% of respondents said revoking the order would
strengthen Poland’s position internationally.
- 31.6% said the decision would weaken the country’s
international standing.
- 32% could not answer.
The survey was conducted on June 24, 2026, using
computer-assisted web interviews. It included 810 adult Poles and was
representative by gender, age and type of locality.
Zelenskyy stripped of the order — key details
Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped Zelenskyy of the
Order of the White Eagle on June 19. Nawrocki said naming a Ukrainian military
unit after the Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA, “goes far beyond
Ukraine’s domestic affairs.”
On June 20, several Ukrainian politicians and officials announced
they were giving up their Polish awards. They included Ukraine’s presidential
office head Kyrylo Budanov; Leonid Kuchma, Ukraine’s president from 1994 to
2005; Viktor Yushchenko, president from 2005 to 2010; and Petro Poroshenko,
president from 2014 to 2019.
The same day, Zelenskyy said he had sent the Order of the
White Eagle to the president of Poland, publishing photos from a Nova Post
branch.
Against that backdrop, Zelenskyy did not attend the Ukraine
Recovery Conference in Gdansk. Ukraine’s delegation to the June 25–26 event was
led by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
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