"I will return this order. It will be an expression of my attitude toward the Ukrainian elites and an act of loyalty toward President Karol Nawrocki, because such acts are needed today", Kaczyński said at a press conference.
The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise is one of Ukraine's highest state decorations, awarded to Ukrainian citizens and foreigners for outstanding service to the Ukrainian state, including strengthening its international standing. Zelensky bestowed the same order on Kaczyński and then-Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki during a 2022 visit, with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal saying at the time that Zelensky was honoring "our true friends, our brothers, for their unwavering support both before and after the start of the war".
Kaczyński said he had previously favored not escalating tensions between the two countries but now believes the conflict is "being escalated rapidly by the other side" in a way he described as "very harmful".
He also called, in a personal capacity rather than as a party position, for Poland to begin blocking the opening of further EU accession negotiation clusters with Ukraine. The European Union opened its first negotiating cluster with Kyiv on June 15 — four years after granting Ukraine candidate status and two years into formal accession talks.
Kaczyński listed Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation over the 1943 Volhynia massacres — including what he called an acknowledgment of guilt, an apology and the burial of all victims — as a condition for improved bilateral relations. He also criticized Ukraine for honoring figures associated with those wartime atrocities.
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Source: PAP