Zelensky Returns Polish Award as Diplomatic Feud Over WWII Massacres Escalates

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has returned a state decoration he received from Poland, escalating a diplomatic dispute. Poland stripped Zelensky of the award after he renamed a Ukrainian military unit in honor of the World War Two-era Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). Poland considers the UPA responsible for mass killings of Poles during the war, which it classifies as genocide. In protest, two former Ukrainian presidents and other senior officials also returned awards they had received from Poland. The move deepens tensions between the two neighboring allies, who have worked closely together since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.