The second president of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, who led the state from 1994 to 2005, announced his refusal to receive the Polish Order of the White Eagle. He was awarded this award in 1997. Leonid Kuchma explained this decision as a reaction to Poland’s deprivation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of this order.
Leonid Kuchma’s statement was published by Darka Olifer, a spokeswoman for the Leonid Kuchma Presidential Foundation “Ukraine.”
“Today I have no other choice but to refuse the high Polish order. Ukraine did not accept the battle from Russia, which justified its invasion with historical claims, so that today other countries would dictate our history to us and determine who we should honor,” Leonid Kuchma said.
He recalled that during the During his presidency, Ukraine and Poland worked on a common understanding of complex historical issues. In 2003, the parties issued a statement that presented the principle of “We forgive and ask for forgiveness.” It was then announced by the President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma and the President of Poland Aleksander Kwasniewski under the spiritual mediation of Pope John Paul II.
Kuchma expressed hope that the allied relations between Ukraine and Poland would be preserved.
“But today I feel sadness and anxiety. It is one thing when the enemy attacks. It is quite another when enmity separates friends. And it is even worse when these friends are also threatened by a common danger. We must remember history. However, the past cannot be more important than the future,” Kuchma emphasized.
