A majority of Poles support the president’s tougher stance toward Ukraine over historical disputes rather than Prime Minister Donald Tusk's calls for dialogue and de-escalation, according to an SW Research poll published on Friday.
The survey, done for news outlet Onet, came amid deteriorating relations between Warsaw and Kyiv following Ukraine's decision in May to name a military unit after the "Heroes of the UPA," the wartime Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), which Poland holds responsible for the massacre of tens of thousands of Poles in Volhynia during World War II.
According to the poll, 54.8% of respondents support President Karol Nawrocki's tougher approach to Ukraine, while 31.8% back Tusk's strategy of maintaining dialogue and reducing tensions. The remaining respondents were undecided.
Nawrocki has repeatedly argued that Ukraine cannot expect Polish support for its ambitions to join the EU while celebrating organizations such as the UPA and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN).
Tusk has called for dialogue with Kyiv, arguing that despite disagreements over historical issues, Poland's strategic support for Ukraine in the face of Russia's invasion should remain a priority.
The dispute has escalated in recent weeks. Nawrocki stripped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Poland's Order of the White Eagle, the country's highest state decoration, while Zelenskyy returned the award to Poland before the procedure was formally completed.
Further tensions have arisen over Zelenskyy's absence from an international conference in Gdansk and Ukrainian plans to establish a National Pantheon that critics say could honor controversial nationalist figures.
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