Tusk nudges Zelenskyy to mend rift with Poland
Donald Tusk (Photo: REUTERS/Roman Baluk)
Polish PM Donald
Tusk urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to “show good will and
ingenuity” in defusing diplomatic tensions with Warsaw, Tusk said in a Twitter
post on June 9.
Tusk appealed both to Zelenskyy and Polish President Karol Nawrocki, noting that he leaned more on Zelenskyy to make the first step towards de-escalation.
“I have appealed to both Presidents to find a better way than exchanging blows,” the PM said.
“To tell the truth, I have appealed more toward the Ukrainian side to take the necessary initiatives, show good will and ingenuity, because it was the decision of the President of Ukraine that led to this crisis.”
“The role of presidents in such a situation is to find a good solution — not a perfect one, because there won’t be one.”
Tusk acknowledged the historical divisions between Poles and Ukrainians and said Poles “will not erase from memory the crimes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.” He also said he understands Ukraine’s desire to define its own identity and heroes and recalled that Nawrocki, while working at the Institute of National Remembrance, said Poland should not choose Ukrainians’ heroes for them.
“In Poland’s interest is the de‑escalation of these emotions, because it is plainly in Poland’s interest — and I don’t need to explain this to anyone — that support for Ukraine in its war with Russia be effective,” Tusk said.
The dispute began after Zelenskyy’s May 26 decree gave the Separate Center for Special Operations North of Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces an honorary name honoring the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). The move drew a sharp reaction in Poland.
Nawrocki later proposed stripping Zelenskyy of the Order of
the White Eagle, which Nawrocki’s predecessor, Andrzej Duda, awarded to the
Ukrainian president in April 2023. Duda said the award had been given to
Zelenskyy “at a different time and under different circumstances.”
The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.
Just as an army needs soldiers, so does a free society need its journalists to ensure that people have access to honest, trustworthy voices to understand the world around them.
For the past five years, The New Voice of Ukraine has been working tirelessly to push back against Russian narratives and defend democracy. But we cannot do it alone.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon for just $5 a month – your donation does directly to supporting journalists and ensuring that this front of the infowar says solid and defended.
Thank you.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
