Zelensky to Poland:
I remember exactly the moment when Andrzej Duda awarded that order.
It was a period when I had refused many awards—not out of disrespect, but because I said that during the war, awards should go only to our soldiers. I felt uncomfortable receiving them while our heroes were fighting on the front line.
I told Andrzej that it was uncomfortable for me. He replied: "Look, I am giving this order to your army, to your people, and to you—all of you." I refused until the very end, because it was not the award itself I objected to, but the whole process of awarding honors during wartime.
But it was clearly stated that this award was for the Ukrainian people. That's why I believe taking it back was the wrong step toward the Ukrainian nation and toward our army.