June 21, 2026
Author: Alex Stezhensky
Prominent Polish public figures have registered a petition to award Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the Civic Order of the Future, Polish-Ukrainian outlet Sestry reported.
The petition says Zelenskyy should receive the honor after Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped him of the Order of the White Eagle.
“In 2023, Poland awarded the Order of the White Eagle to the president of Ukraine and the entire Ukrainian people in recognition of their struggle. Ukrainians are giving their lives for security — their own, Poland’s and Europe’s. The current decision by the Polish head of state shows how the Russian trap works. The Polish right wing has begun its parliamentary election campaign and is ruthlessly using the Volhynia tragedy for political purposes. Politicians are arguing about 1943, while in 2026 people are dying in Ukraine every day,” the petition’s authors said.
Prominent Polish public figures have registered a petition to award Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the Civic Order of the Future, Polish-Ukrainian outlet Sestry reported.
The petition says Zelenskyy should receive the honor after Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped him of the Order of the White Eagle.
“In 2023, Poland awarded the Order of the White Eagle to the president of Ukraine and the entire Ukrainian people in recognition of their struggle. Ukrainians are giving their lives for security — their own, Poland’s and Europe’s. The current decision by the Polish head of state shows how the Russian trap works. The Polish right wing has begun its parliamentary election campaign and is ruthlessly using the Volhynia tragedy for political purposes. Politicians are arguing about 1943, while in 2026 people are dying in Ukraine every day,” the petition’s authors said.
“In February 2022, we voluntarily opened our homes to people fleeing the war. We are together day after day — and may it remain so. We raised millions of zlotys for generators as part of the Warmth From Poland for Kyiv campaign. We were supported by the Polish church, local governments, civil society, the media and business. Last winter, we delivered this equipment to residents of Kyiv and other cities who were freezing in the dark under Russian shelling,” they said.
The petition says Ukrainians are not the ones defining Poles’ historical memory.
“We must talk about the facts of the past, but the necessary condition for this is the survival of both states. We cannot allow politicians to risk our shared security to boost their poll numbers. Awarding the state order in 2023 confirmed the commitment of millions of people who have helped since the first day of the invasion. Stripping that award is a blow to them as well. We want to preserve our solidarity. We remember the dramatic chapters in the history of our peoples. But we live here and now, so we choose cooperation and friendship. Based on the experience of mutual help during Russian aggression, we want to build security in Europe together with a free Ukraine,” the petition said.
Among the petition’s authors are:
- Jerzy Wójcik, publisher, former deputy editor-in-chief of Gazeta Wyborcza and founder of the Ukrainian-Polish magazine Sestry.eu.
- Joanna Mosiej-Sitek, journalist, media expert, former management director at Gazeta Wyborcza and former publishing director of Wysokie Obcasy.
- Bartosz Kramek, activist and human rights defender.
- Zbigniew Jankowski, managing partner at Maurent PR.
- Natalia Panchenko, Polish-Ukrainian activist, Ukrainian diaspora leader in Poland, human rights defender, Wprost’s activist of the year and producer of the Ukraїner and Chernobyl VR Project.
- Szymon Szymankiewicz, artist and graphic designer.
- Aleksandra Klich, writer, manager and journalist.
- Przemysław Krych, entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist and anti-communist opposition activist.
- Beata Drzazga, entrepreneur, founder and owner of several companies in Poland and abroad, management expert and philanthropist.
- Fryderyk Zoll, professor of civil law at Jagiellonian University and professor of European private law, comparative law and Polish private law at the University of Osnabrück.
- Tomasz Misiak, entrepreneur and member of the Council of Polish Employers.
- Michał Przedlacki, Polish reporter, journalist and TVN24 documentary filmmaker known for his reporting from Ukraine during the war.
- Wojciech Tochman, journalist.
- Róża Thun, politician, Civic Platform member and two-time member of the European Parliament.
- Agnieszka Holland, film and television director, screenwriter and actress.
The Polish president is acting like a child. It’s time to end the conflict with Ukraine and concentrate on the real enemy–mafia land.