Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has lost Poland highest state award, the Order of the White Eagle, after Kyiv chose to name a military formation after fighters from World War Two whose legacy remains contested.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki described Ukraine recent choice to honor the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) as outrageous, hard to understand and deeply disappointing.

Nawrocki made clear that the disagreement would not change Poland continued backing for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.

Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned Warsaw action, labeling it a strategic mistake and disrespectful.

Many Ukrainians view the UPA, active in the 1940s and 1950s, as heroes who battled for independence against Soviet forces, Nazi Germany and Polish officials, making the unit name a significant tribute.

Poland accuses the UPA of genocide against ethnic Poles in the Volhynia region during 1943-45.

For most Poles the UPA stands mainly as a group behind brutal crimes against Polish citizens in World War Two, Nawrocki stated in a video on the presidential site.

The Ukrainian decision to glorify the UPA is therefore outrageous, incomprehensible and deeply disappointing, he added.

The move wounds historical memory and weakens trust built over years and recent months, he noted.

The Polish leader recalled that Poland welcomed hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees after Russia full-scale invasion began in 2022.

Poles opened borders, homes and hearts to millions of Ukrainians, he said.

Ukraine path to European structures demands honest reckoning with difficult parts of its past, he continued.

A united Europe rests on rejecting totalitarianism and the cult of violence, principles that apply to all, he stressed, warning that those who fail to grasp this have no place in the European Union and Poland will block their entry.

Ukraine seeks EU membership and began the first stage of talks this week in Luxembourg.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk sought to ease rising tensions, posting on social media that the dispute pleases Russia Vladimir Putin and urging Zelensky and Nawrocki to calm emotions rather than increase friction.

Ukrainians see the UPA as a symbol of resistance and independence, while Warsaw maintains that around 100,000 ethnic Poles died in the Volhynia massacres.

The group red-and-black flag appears often with Ukrainian troops today, which prompted Zelensky to adopt the UPA name for a unit in order to restore national army traditions.

The Order of the White Eagle was given to Zelensky in 2023 by former President Andrzej Duda.

Zelensky has not spoken directly on the matter, yet Sybiha termed the move a strategic mistake by Poland President that benefits only Moscow.

As a result Sybiha said he would return an award received from Poland in 2022.

No foreign president will dictate our history to us, he declared.