Ukraine says engaged in 'quiet diplomacy' with Poland to resolve escalation in ties

Ukraine said on Tuesday it is engaged in "quiet diplomacy" with Poland to reduce "emotional tension" and resolve the recent escalation in bilateral relations amid a historical dispute.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhy said Kyiv stands for constructive dialogue and constantly maintains contact with Polish diplomats.

"We are working to still calm down these sharp corners and emotions," he said. "The Ukrainian position is very balanced. We are for dialogue. Including on complex issues of the historical past."

Tykhy underlined that the current tensions primarily concern the position of Polish President Karol Nawrocki and "should not be equated with the position of Poland as a whole or with the position of Polish society."

Tensions between Ukraine and Poland erupted after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy named a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a group regarded by many Ukrainians as a symbol of resistance against Soviet rule, but remembered in Poland for massacres that killed tens of thousands of Polish civilians during World War II.

In response, Polish President Karol Nawrocki revoked Zelenskyy's Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest state honor, prompting the Ukrainian leader to return the award on Saturday.

Nawrocki defended his decision, arguing that honoring the UPA "hurts the memory of Polish victims" and undermines efforts at historical reconciliation. He said the move did not change Poland's support for Ukraine against Russia.

In solidarity with Zelenskyy, former Ukrainian presidents Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Yushchenko, and Petro Poroshenko also announced they would renounce their own Order of the White Eagle honors.

Ukrainain Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described Warsaw's decision as "a strategic mistake, from which only Russia will benefit."