June 21, 2026
A former MP emphasized that he returned the order not to the person who originally presented it
The trend to return Polish state honors has now reached Poland itself. Former Polish Sejm member Piotr Fogler has returned his Golden Cross of Merit to President Nawrocki in protest over the decision to strip President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle.
Fogler said he was returning the award not to the president who originally presented it to him (Aleksander Kwaśniewski), but to the “current occupant of Belweder Palace.”
“What this man called President has done and continues to do is a nightmare. To me, he is not the President of my country, but a misunderstanding,” Fogler wrote.
The former lawmaker also sarcastically remarked that he is “still waiting for the National Electoral Commission to count the votes” from the presidential election.
(photo: facebook.com piotr.fogler)
(photo: facebook.com piotr.fogler)
As previously reported, on June 19, Nawrocki stripped Ukrainian President Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle over the renaming of a Special Operations Forces unit in honor of UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army) Heroes.
In response, Zelenskyy mailed the order back to Poland.
In a show of solidarity, three former Ukrainian presidents—Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Yushchenko, and Petro Poroshenko—also gave up their Polish state honors, along with Ambassador Bodnar, Foreign Minister Sybiha, and Head of the Presidential Office Budanov.
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/ukraine-s-fm-names-way-to-pressure-putin-1782045563.html
I suppose that the current Polish president never expected the response he’s getting over his childish measure, in particular that a former Polish lawmaker would show his solidarity with the Ukrainians by returning his own award. Some politicians do have backbones and rock-solid morals.
Good to know that there is still some integrity there.