Zelensky to skip Ukraine Recovery Conference in Poland, Svyrydenko steps in
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will not attend this week's Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2026) in Gdansk, northern Poland, with Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced on Tuesday as the head of the national delegation.
The shift in leadership follows reports from diplomatic sources that Zelensky had been reconsidering his attendance after Polish President Karol Nawrocki's contested decision to strip him of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest honour. The diplomatic row was sparked by Zelensky's decree naming a Ukrainian special forces unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a controversial World War II nationalist group held responsible for the ethnic cleansing of tens of thousands of Poles.
"I am leading Ukraine's delegation and our overall work at the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026 in Gdansk," Svyrydenko posted in English on social media.
She wrote that the delegation will feature "representatives of Ukrainian businesses, heads of state-owned companies, leaders of communities from across the country, as well as government officials and members of parliament," to bolster cooperation with Poland and wider European partners.
"The conference agenda is packed with meetings and events at every level aimed at strengthening Ukraine, Poland, our partners, and Europe as a whole," Svyrydenko added.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters during a visit to Madrid that the Ukrainian president should attend the conference in Gdansk, as "he is a co-organiser and co-host" of the event.
Kosiniak-Kamysz argued that the current situation would not have arisen had President Zelensky not decided to name a Ukrainian military unit after UPA figures.
"We could have been building strong relations based on friendship, cooperation, economic ties and defence," he said, adding that "we still want to build them since it is in Poland's strategic interest."
"Poland and Ukraine should stand together against our common enemies, rather than face a hostile attitude from Ukraine towards Poland or hostile emotions in Poland towards Ukraine," he concluded.
Adam Szlapka, the Polish government spokesman, said that the conference "is a major event, above all an economic one."
He noted that Ukraine had decided to be represented by its prime minister and stressed that, since the decision had been made by the Ukrainian side, it was difficult to comment further.
Later in the day, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko's participation in the conference was "a gesture intended to help ease existing tensions."
Tusk added that this could also mean "a more productive conference, free from unnecessary friction."
The Ukraine Recovery Conference, scheduled for 25–26 June is expected to draw 2,000 participants from over 40 countries, including heads of state and major international financial institutions. The event is designed to showcase Poland's economic potential and secure a leading role for Polish businesses in Ukraine's future reconstruction. (PAP)
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