Polish officials say Zelenskyy will attend Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk despite tensions

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will travel to Gdańsk for the Ukraine Recovery Conference despite the controversy surrounding the naming of a Ukrainian military unit after UPA heroes. [The UPA, or Ukrainian Insurgent Army, was a nationalist paramilitary organisation that fought for Ukrainian independence during and after World War II, primarily against Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union – ed.]

Source: a source in the Polish government, as cited by Rzeczpospolita and reported by European Pravda

Details: According to the source, Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a diplomatic note from the Ukrainian side on Tuesday 16 June confirming that Volodymyr Zelenskyy will participate in the Ukraine Recovery Conference, which will take place in Gdańsk on 25-26 June.

Amid tensions between Poland and Ukraine over the naming of a military unit after UPA heroes, Zelenskyy's visit to Poland had been uncertain. Journalists had sought clarification on the conference, particularly regarding the attendance of the Ukrainian president and other senior government officials, but no official confirmation had been provided by the Ukrainian side.

Several days earlier, Mykyta Poturaiev, an MP from the Servant of the People party, told PAP that President Zelenskyy is expected to attend the event in Gdańsk. He said a Ukrainian delegation is expected to travel to the conference, but added that he could not speak on behalf of the president.

The Polish government source has now also confirmed to the outlet that Zelenskyy will attend the conference in Gdańsk.

Paweł Kowal, the Polish government's commissioner for Ukraine's recovery, previously stressed that the event is a joint conference of Poland and Ukraine and that both countries have a shared interest in ensuring it takes place.

The Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026 will be held in Gdańsk on 25-26 June and is expected to bring together up to 5,000 participants, including leaders, politicians and business representatives.

It will be the first time the conference has been hosted in Poland, following previous editions in Lugano, Berlin, London and Rome.

Background:

• Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk indicated earlier that despite the current tensions in bilateral relations, he expects that Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend the conference in Gdańsk.
• On 8 June, Poland's Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle held a meeting at which one of the issues discussed was President Karol Nawrocki's proposal to revoke the decoration previously awarded to Zelenskyy.
• Nawrocki's spokesperson Rafał Leszkiewicz later said that the Polish president is not rushing to strip Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle, as he is waiting for Ukraine to correct what he described as a mistake in naming a Special Operations Forces unit after UPA heroes.

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