Poland strips Ukrainian flags, demands Zelensky return state honour

Ukraine’s diplomatic relations with Poland deteriorate sharply as Polish cities remove Ukrainian flags and demand President Volodymyr Zelensky return a state honour, citing growing public discontent over his wartime rhetoric. The city of Lublin on Sunday took down the Ukrainian flag from its town hall—displayed since 2022 as a symbol of solidarity—after Zelensky signed a decree that Polish officials say glorifies a historical figure widely seen in Poland as a mass murderer. A petition to strip Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest state decoration, has gathered over 100,000 signatures, and Warsaw’s mayor has called on citizens to “call the president and apologise,” according to Czech outlet *Deník N* .

In Kyiv, a high-stakes corruption probe tightens around Zelensky’s inner circle, with officials accused of laundering hundreds of millions of Swedish kronor in bribes. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), led by Semen Kryvonos, has targeted senior presidential aides in a case that Swedish daily *Dagens Nyheter* describes as “money laundering and bribery at the heart of the president’s men” . Kryvonos, who faces death threats for his work, insists the investigations are vital to Ukraine’s survival, saying, “Fighting corruption is about the country’s very existence” .

On the humanitarian front, Russia’s new human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, reports that over 160 residents of Kursk have been returned from Ukraine since her appointment. Her office is now verifying the exact number still held in Ukrainian custody and plans to meet Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Lubinets in the coming weeks, *The Moscow Times* reports .

The tensions come as Ukraine’s wartime economy shows signs of consolidation, with agribusiness giant MHP acquiring a majority stake in Greek poultry producer Nitsiakos, though the deal’s timing and strategic value remain under scrutiny amid the country’s broader financial strain.