---
title: "Zelensky's Order of the White Eagle transferred to the archives: how Warsaw is closing the conflict with Kyiv"
description: "The Order of the White Eagle returned by Volodymyr Zelensky has been officially accepted in Poland and sent to the archives. The press secretary of President Nawrocki confirmed the receipt of the award and stated that this will not affect relations between the countries, despite historical disagreements. 🇵🇱🇺🇦"
date: 2026-06-22T21:44:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/zelenskys-order-of-the-white-eagle-transferred-to-the-archives
tags: []
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Zelensky's Order of the White Eagle transferred to the archives: how Warsaw is closing the conflict with Kyiv

![Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a moment of reflection, amidst events surrounding the Order of the White Eagle](https://xab.info/media/2026/06/22/orden-belog-o-ordena-zelenskogo-predan-v-arxiv/orden-belog-o-ordena-zelenskogo-predan-v-arxiv-1.webp)

The situation surrounding Poland's highest state award, from which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was stripped, has reached its formal conclusion. The returned Order of the White Eagle has already been received by the Office of the President of Poland and will be transferred to the state archives for storage.

As reported by RBC-Ukraine citing the press secretary of the Polish head of state, Rafał Leszczyński, the award was received via postal delivery. Leszczyński confirmed the arrival of the order at the presidential administration, noting that the documentation and the award itself will now be archived.

### Award status and documents

According to the press secretary's clarifications, since the Order of the White Eagle is the country's highest award, it remains the property of the state. However, the fact of Zelensky being stripped of the award means that the certificate for the order has lost its legal force. Now, the physical copy of the order, along with the invalid document, will be stored in the archives of the Office of the President of Poland.

This decision marked the final point in a story that began on June 19, when Polish President Karol Nawrocki officially stripped Volodymyr Zelensky of the country's highest and oldest state award. Warsaw explained this decision by stating that one of the Ukrainian units was named after UPA heroes, which caused sharp rejection from the Polish side against the backdrop of the historical tragedies of 1943–1944.

### Warsaw's position: not against Ukrainians

Despite the severity of the decision, the official representative of the Polish leader expressed confidence that the incident would not lead to further deterioration of bilateral relations. Rafał Leszczyński emphasized that President Nawrocki made it clear: stripping the order is not directed against the Ukrainian people.

"In fact, Russia is the enemy of Ukraine, all of free Europe, and the free world," the press secretary quoted the head of the Polish state. Thus, Warsaw is trying to distinguish between a "political decision" and a "geopolitical position," maintaining alliance relations with Kyiv.

### Chronology of the conflict

The story with the order developed dramatically. After Nawrocki announced the stripping of Zelensky's award, the Ukrainian leader, following his predecessors, refused it. However, Kyiv's subsequent decision to send the order back to Poland by mail caused a new wave of outrage from the Polish president, who viewed this as disrespect for protocol. Now that the award has been officially accepted and sent for storage, the incident is moving to closed status.