FINLANDE PERSPECTIVE

Helsinki, June 21, 2026. Polish President Karol Nawrocki's decision to withdraw from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the Order of the White Eagle — Poland's highest state decoration — received careful attention from Finnish media outlets, which prioritize the geopolitical consequences for the Western alliance.

Iltalehti recalls that the crisis was triggered by Zelensky's decision to name a new military unit in honor of the UPA, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army active during World War II. In Poland, the UPA is associated with the Volhynia massacres from 1943 to 1945, during which Ukrainian nationalists carried out ethnic cleansing against Polish civilians. Nawrocki, a historian specializing in injustices committed by Nazis and Soviets against Poles, justified his action by stating that Poles must not "betray the sacrifices of their ancestors through silence."

MTV Uutiset notes that Zelensky received this decoration in spring 2023 from former Polish President Andrzej Duda in recognition of his merits for "security, resilience, and defense of human rights." The same outlet recalls that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Nawrocki's political rival, adopted a de-escalation stance: "This conflict pleases Putin and upsets our allies. The task for Presidents Zelensky and Nawrocki is to calm spirits, not inflame them. The front lies elsewhere," he wrote on social media.

Finnish press also notes that over 50 percent of Poles surveyed, according to figures cited by Iltalehti, believe that the dispute over the military unit's name has damaged their perception of Zelensky and Ukraine. Zelensky ultimately returned the decoration, according to MTV Uutiset, in a gesture judged to carry considerable symbolic weight in this climate of tension.

This disagreement occurs in an environment where Poland is among Ukraine's principal supporters — massive refugee intake, weapons transit, financial aid. Finnish media, heirs to long experience as Russia's neighbor, observe that any fissure between Warsaw and Kyiv constitutes a signal potentially exploitable by Moscow. The episode illustrates the fragility of pro-Ukraine support coalitions, even among the most committed nations, when unresolved historical grievances resurface under domestic political pressure.