Zelenskyy to skip Ukraine Recovery Conference amid diplomatic spat with Poland

Kyiv — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not attend a key post-war recovery conference in Poland this week, Kyiv announced on Tuesday, as a diplomatic dispute between the allies over Second World War history escalates.

The row began last month when Zelenskyy named a military unit after the nationalist Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a group that participated in massacres of Poles during World War II. In response, Poland's nationalist President Karol Nawrocki stripped Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle, Warsaw's highest honour, prompting several top Ukrainian officials to return their Polish awards.

Conference Overshadowed by Tensions

The Ukraine Recovery Conference, scheduled to begin Thursday in Gdansk, aims to gather business leaders and officials to discuss post-war reconstruction. However, the diplomatic rift threatens to dominate proceedings.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhy confirmed that Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko would lead the Ukrainian delegation, citing the need to avoid "excessive politicisation" and "scandals."

"Through diplomatic channels we are in constant contact," Tykhy said of relations with Poland.

Allies at Odds

Warsaw has been one of Kyiv's staunchest allies since Russia's 2022 invasion, hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees and serving as a logistics hub for Western aid. The conference — previously held in Rome, Berlin, and Lugano, Switzerland — was intended to solidify Poland's role as Ukraine's neighbour and ally, amid concerns in Warsaw that it could be sidelined in eventual peace talks.

Earlier on Tuesday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk — a political opponent of Nawrocki — sought to de-escalate tensions:

"I am also counting on the fact that on both the Polish and the Ukrainian side there will be more people who will be able to stand up to these moods and emotions, and who will lead both Poland and Ukraine toward the future."

Despite being an ally of Ukraine, Tusk has blamed Kyiv for the crisis and called on Zelenskyy to reverse the decision to name the unit after the UPA.

Ukraine's Response

Poland's demand has sparked anger in Ukraine. Over the weekend, Zelenskyy accused Polish politicians of seeking "political points" domestically and fuelling anti-Ukrainian sentiment.

"We are defending Poland, we are defending Europe right now, not the other way around. Our fighters are defending it, and Ukrainians are dying," he told Ukrainian media on Sunday.

Zelenskyy symbolically returned his Polish award over the weekend. In a show of solidarity, former Ukrainian presidents Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Yushchenko, and Petro Poroshenko also sent back their Polish honours.

Historical Context

The UPA fought both the Nazis and the Soviets in its quest for an independent Ukrainian state. Between 1943 and 1945, the group killed thousands of Polish civilians in Volhynia — a Ukrainian region that was part of Poland before World War II.

Zelenskyy said he named the military unit after the UPA at the request of Ukrainian soldiers, and that he had signed similar decrees "hundreds of times during the war."

"I've never told them (soldiers) what I like or don't like," he said.

Some in the Ukrainian army have invoked the UPA's legacy as an anti-Soviet force — a trend criticised by both Warsaw and Moscow, who view the insurgents as war criminals and Nazi collaborators.

Political Fallout

Zelenskyy has accused Polish politicians of seeking domestic advantage ahead of parliamentary elections next year.

"You radicalise society and where will this social hatred lead? To ratings. This is a political struggle that can end badly," Zelenskyy said.

Poland is home to over 1.5 million Ukrainians, including refugees who arrived after 2022 and economic migrants. In recent weeks, a series of anti-Ukrainian incidents have been reported across the country.