Zelensky under pressure to end row with Poland over WW2 name of army unit

Ukraine is facing a major diplomatic fallout with key ally Poland, after Kyiv decided to name a military unit after controversial World War Two fighters, reopening a painful chapter from the past.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki is considering stripping Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky of the country's highest state honour, the Order of the White Eagle.

Nawrocki has already consulted with the council of the order and says he will decide whether to revoke the honour "in due course".

The spat began when Zelensky issued a decree late last month naming a military unit of the Special Operations Forces after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), which existed in the 1940s and 1950s.

Many in Ukraine regard the UPA's members as heroes who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Soviet Red Army as well as Nazi Germany and Polish authorities. So for Ukrainians the title "Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army" is a major honour.

Poland, however, accuses UPA of carrying out a genocide of ethnic Poles in Volhynia (now Volyn in Ukraine) in 1943-45. Zelensky's decree caused significant outrage in Poland, and Nawrocki condemned it as "glorification of bandits and killers".

There has been criticism from across the political spectrum – from far-right to left-wing groups.

Many felt Ukraine was ungrateful to Poland, which opened its borders to millions of Ukrainians fleeing the full-scale Russian invasion, and continues to provide shelter to almost a million refugees.