Kaczyński Says He Will Return Ukraine’s Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise

The chairman of Poland’s opposition Law and Justice party criticized the Ukraine reconstruction conference taking place in Gdańsk.

One of the reasons, in particular, was the participation of Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovyi.

“The mayor of Lviv is present at this conference, despite the fact that he is an open supporter of Bandera, a man who does not pay a Polish company for work already completed,” Kaczyński said.

In his view, Sadovyi’s presence at the conference shows Ukraine’s attitude toward Poland.

Kaczyński also said he intends to return the Ukrainian state award.

“I will also return the order, since I have quite a high rank. The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, which is the highest, though not first class, because I am not a president. I have the second class. This will be an expression of my attitude, perhaps not so much toward Ukrainians as toward the Ukrainian elite. On the other hand, it is an act of loyalty to our president; such acts are necessary today,” he said.

Kaczyński accused the Ukrainian side of escalating the conflict and said Poland should begin blocking the opening of new negotiating clusters between the European Union and Ukraine.

Earlier, an IBRiS poll showed that 60% of surveyed Poles believe Ukraine should not join the EU.

Before that, one Polish lawmaker called for Ukrainians in Poland to be sent back home.