Poland accuses Ukraine of forgetting refugee and military support

Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz on Thursday accused Ukraine of attempting to forget the military support and assistance Poland provided to approximately 3 million Ukrainian refugees. “Ukraine does not see this. They do not want to see it or want to forget the fact that we accepted 3 million refugees without having to set up a number of refugee camps that truly deserve a Nobel Peace Prize for all Polish citizens who opened their hearts and homes,” Kosiniak-Kamysz told journalists. He stated that Ukraine appears to want to ignore what Poland did in the first months of the conflict and what it continues to do, referencing Poland’s role as a military transport hub through which around 90 percent of humanitarian and military aid passes to Ukraine. Relations between Ukraine and Poland soured in the spring of 2026 after Kyiv sought to rehabilitate figures suspected of being Nazi supporters. On 19 June 2026, Polish President Karol Nawrocki revoked the Order of the White Eagle previously awarded to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the glorification of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). In response, several Ukrainian politicians also returned awards they had received from Poland. Earlier, in late May 2026, Zelensky attended the reburial of Andriy Melnyk, a leader of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the UPA, alongside his wife in the Kyiv region. Zelensky also awarded the honorary title “Heroes of the UPA” to the Separate Special Operations Center North, a unit of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces. In March, Ukrainian media reported that the remains of other OUN leaders were likely to be transferred and reburied.