{"id":1407929,"date":"2026-06-20T19:56:03","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T16:56:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/this-is-not-why-ukraine-accepted-the-battle-from-russia-kuchma-refused-the-order-of-the-white-eagle\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T19:56:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T16:56:03","slug":"this-is-not-why-ukraine-accepted-the-battle-from-russia-kuchma-refused-the-order-of-the-white-eagle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/this-is-not-why-ukraine-accepted-the-battle-from-russia-kuchma-refused-the-order-of-the-white-eagle\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThis is not why Ukraine accepted the battle from Russia\u201d: Kuchma refused the Order of the White Eagle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma has refused the Order of the White Eagle, which he received from Poland in 1997. He explained his decision by depriving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of this award.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This was reported by<\/a> Leonid Kuchma’s press secretary, Daryna Olifer.<\/p>\n

Kuchma stated that during his presidency he considered the development of friendly relations with Poland to be one of the priorities. According to him, together with the then Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, he paid special attention to resolving historical issues, which resulted in a joint statement on reconciliation in 2003.<\/p>\n

“We forgive and ask for forgiveness \u2014 this is the principle that President Kwasniewski and I developed under the spiritual mediation of the great Pole, Pope John Paul II. This principle has worked for decades,” Kuchma said.<\/p>\n

The ex-president noted that Poland’s assistance to Ukraine from the first hours of Russia’s full-scale invasion was confirmation of the effectiveness of this approach.<\/p>\n

Kuchma called Polish President Karol Nawrocki’s decision to strip Volodymyr Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle an “unfriendly step.” “Ukraine did not accept the battle from Russia […] so that today other countries would dictate our history to us and determine who we should honor,” Kuchma said, explaining his refusal of the award.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the ex-president expressed hope for the preservation of friendly and allied relations between Ukraine and Poland.<\/p>\n

“Ukraine and Poland need each other more than ever before. We must remember history. However, the past cannot be more important than the future. The burning, sharp, but phantom pain of an ancient tragedy should not blind us so much as to not see the real, present threat of the imperial power in the East, which has previously deprived both our peoples of statehood and does not hide its intentions to try to do it again,” Kuchma added.<\/p>\n

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