Kiev has greatly angered Warsaw by honoring nationalist figures blamed for massacres of Poles

A former Polish Ambassador to Ukraine has returned a state honor awarded him in Kiev, citing Vladimir Zelensky's veneration of Ukrainian nazi-collaborators whose units were responsible for the mass extermination and ethnic cleansing of tens of thousands of Poles during WW2. 

Bartosz Cichocki returned the state award after Ukraine held a state reburial of Andrey Melnik, who co-founded the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) in 1929 with Stepan Bandera.

Melnik's OUN-M and Bandera's OUN-B are directly responsible for the mass murder of over 100,000 Poles during the Volhynia and Eastern Galicia Massacres that took place between 1943 and 1945.

Zelensky also recently named a commando unit after the "Heroes of UPA," a reference to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, the OUN's military wing.

Cichocki's decision to return the Ukrainian Order of Merit, which he received from Zelensky in 2022, comes amid a wave of anger in Poland over the latest tributes to Ukrainian nationalist fighters. 

In comments to the Polish Press Agency on Monday, the retired diplomat said he had handed the decoration back to the Ukrainian Embassy. He said he nevertheless supports Ukrainians fighting against Russia, as well as those opposing "historical lies and corruption."

How has Poland reacted to Ukraine venerating nazi collaborators?

Although the glorification of UPA and Ukrainian Nazi collaborators has been part of Kiev's policy for years, the latest gestures have triggered an unusually strong backlash in Poland.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki has called for Zelensky to be stripped of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest state honor, and warned that a country venerating "bandits and murderers" is not ready to join "the European family." Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Zelensky's decision had pushed a longstanding historical grievance to "a rather alarming level."

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Much of the criticism has targeted Zelensky personally. His political standing has been weakened by a series of corruption scandals involving members of his inner circle, as well as by tensions with a rebellious parliament that has resisted painful reforms demanded by foreign donors.

Cichocki also received the UPA-inspired "Cross of Merit" in 2022 from then-Ukrainian Army commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny, frequently described in the media as a possible successor to Zelensky.

By contrast, the Ukrainian Order of Merit was established in 1996 and does not carry the same historical baggage.

Moscow's concern that the West tolerates 'Nazis' in Ukraine

Following the state reburial of Melnik, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Zelensky had once again demonstrated the "true essence" of the "regime" he leads. Moscow has long argued that Kiev's brand of Ukrainian nationalism is rooted in Nazi ideology and fuels discriminatory policies against ethnic Russians.

"The official, state-level glorification of Nazi criminals and collaborators is taking place in the center of Europe," Peskov said. "I don't know if anyone in the European capitals likes this, but we don't like it at all."

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Moscow has repeatedly accused Kiev's Western backers of ignoring Ukrainian wrongdoing as long as the country continues to inflict damage on Russia.