Volodymyr Zelenskyy declines to attend Ukraine recovery conference amid dispute with Poland over military unit naming

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has decided not to attend a high-level conference on Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction, deepening a rift with Poland over his naming of a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). The conference begins on Thursday in the Polish coastal city of Gdańsk, and the Ukrainian delegation will instead be led by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

The annual Ukraine Recovery Conference aims to gather partners and businesses to help rebuild Ukraine after the war. Zelenskyy’s absence follows weeks of rising tensions after he named a unit after “the heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.” The UPA is viewed in Ukraine as a symbol of resistance against Soviet forces, but in Poland it is notorious for killing up to 100,000 Poles in the Volhynia region between 1943 and 1945. In 2016, the Polish parliament declared the killings a genocide. Polish underground forces retaliated by killing 10,000 Ukrainians.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki, a former head of the Institute of National Remembrance, said he was “outraged” and suggested Zelenskyy could be stripped of Poland’s highest civilian honor, the Order of the White Eagle, which he received in 2023. After failed negotiations, Nawrocki confirmed on Friday that he would revoke the order. “If anyone wants to be proud of the murderers of women and children, they cannot be surprised by the reaction,” said Marcin Przydacz, Nawrocki’s chief foreign policy adviser.

Zelenskyy returned the award by post and accused Nawrocki of exploiting anti-Ukrainian sentiments ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections. “Our service members choose a heroic name for their unit themselves, and as president and supreme commander-in-chief, I must support them,” he said. He warned the dispute would weaken Polish-Ukrainian relations at a time of rising tensions with Russia. Three former Ukrainian presidents and several senior officials also returned their Polish honors.

The snub embarrasses Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who will host the conference in his hometown of Gdańsk. Tusk had urged both presidents to de-escalate, warning that an escalation would be “a strategic mistake.” Speaking on Tuesday, he accused politicians in both countries of “stoking tensions” and said he would not lend a hand to them. The EU warned that only Russia would benefit from worsening relations, with spokesperson Paula Pinho stating that “the aggressor in Ukraine” should not be handed an advantage.