The Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle is set to convene after Zelensky named a military unit after the fighters of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) – a Second World War-era organisation responsible for the massacre of tens of thousands of Polish civilians.
President Karol Nawrocki, who chairs the Chapter and proposed the move, said the Ukrainian leader's decision provided "the best material and plenty of oxygen for Russian propaganda".
Zelensky received the order – Poland's highest state honour – in April 2023 from then-President Andrzej Duda.
Under Polish law, it can be revoked if the recipient has "committed an act making them unworthy" of the decoration.
It has only been stripped once before, and only following a court ruling.
The Ukrainian president's decision drew sharp criticism across the Polish political spectrum.
Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said Zelensky had made a mistake and that Poles had every right to feel disappointed, while adding that behind-the-scenes talks were under way in the hope that Ukraine would find "some way to correct this error".
The foreign ministry said the decision could be exploited by Russian propaganda to weaken Polish-Ukrainian relations and undermine the two countries' strategic partnership.
Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, speaking in a video sent to Ukrainian media, called state glorification of the UPA "unacceptable".
He acknowledged that for some Ukrainians the organisation may symbolise resistance to Soviet oppression, but said that for Poles it remains above all a symbol of the atrocities committed against civilians during the Volhynia massacres.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Ukraine had created this problem and should find its solution.
Zelensky's chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov visited Warsaw over the weekend for talks with senior Polish officials, but sources close to the Presidential Palace said the discussions yielded no concrete results.
(ał)
Source: PAP