CBOS Poll: Majority of Poles Support Stripping Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle

A new CBOS survey reveals that 59 percent of Poles support President Karol Nawrocki’s decision to strip Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle.

Public Opinion on the Presidential Decision

According to a CBOS poll, 59 percent of respondents consider President Karol Nawrocki’s decision to strip Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle to be right, while 28 percent evaluate the decision negatively. Opinions regarding the consequences of this step for Poland are divided: 41 percent of respondents believe it brings Poland more losses than benefits, and the exact same percentage (41 percent) are of the opinion that the benefits outweigh the losses.

CBOS noted that a decisive majority of respondents (84 percent) believe the Polish state should react when another country glorifies historical figures responsible for crimes against Poles. At the same time, the issue of Ukrainians’ right to their own historical heroes generates greater division: 44 percent of respondents agree with the statement that Ukrainians have the right to their own heroes, even if they left a negative mark on Poland’s history, and 42 percent hold the opposite view.

Polish-Ukrainian Relations and Who Benefits from the Dispute

According to the survey, Poles recognize the political conditions underlying the Polish-Ukrainian dispute. 73 percent of respondents agree with the statement that Polish and Ukrainian politicians fuel conflicts between the two countries for their own political gain. Meanwhile, 80 percent believe that Russia benefits from the dispute.

At the same time, 75 percent of respondents indicate that Poland and Ukraine should primarily cooperate in the face of the threat from Russia rather than focusing on issues that divide them. Furthermore, 52 percent of respondents believe that both countries have more common than divergent goals and interests, while 31 percent hold the opposite opinion.

Expectations in Relations with Ukraine

When asked about Poland’s priorities in relations with Ukraine, respondents most frequently pointed to security cooperation (61 percent). Subsequent priorities included building good neighborly relations (46 percent), proper commemoration of the victims of the Volhynian massacre (43 percent), strengthening Poland’s position as a leader in the European region (41 percent), and the participation of Polish companies in the reconstruction of Ukraine (40 percent).

Three Groups of Respondents Identified by CBOS

CBOS distinguished three groups of respondents based on their approach to the Polish-Ukrainian dispute. The largest group consists of the so-called moralists, accounting for 46 percent of respondents. These are individuals who adopt a more confrontational stance toward Ukrainian politics: 95 percent of them consider the decision to strip Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle to be right, and 99 percent believe that good Polish-Ukrainian relations cannot be built without addressing the past.

The second group identified by CBOS is pragmatists, representing 34 percent of respondents. To a greater extent than moralists, they focus on the future and cooperation. 70 percent of them believe that Ukrainians have the right to their own heroes despite their negative role in Poland’s history, and 70 percent critically evaluate the decision to strip Zelensky of the Polish decoration. At the same time, 96 percent of pragmatists believe that in the face of the threat from Russia, Poland and Ukraine should cooperate, and historical disputes should take a back seat.

The smallest group identified by CBOS is the withdrawn, accounting for 20 percent of respondents. These individuals more often than others lack a definitive opinion on issues concerning Polish-Ukrainian relations. However, 54 percent of them consider Karol Nawrocki’s decision to strip Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle to be right, and 55 percent agree that Poland and Ukraine should primarily cooperate against the Russian threat.

The survey was conducted from July 2 to July 12 on a sample of 938 adult residents of Poland.