Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not attend the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdansk, turning his absence into the event’s most potent political signal. The two-day forum, the largest infrastructure project in Europe since the Marshall Plan, is overshadowed by a diplomatic crisis over Zelenskyy’s decision to name a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).
In Poland, the UPA is associated with the 1943-45 Volyn tragedy that killed tens of thousands of Poles. Warsaw’s outrage prompted President Karol Nawrocki to strip Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle. Zelenskyy returned the honour and will boycott the conference.
The gathering still brings major commitments. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is set to announce the first €3.2 billion disbursement under a €90 billion EU loan package. The UK will unveil a £290 million package for Ukraine’s energy sector and justice reforms. Kyiv expects to sign more than 30 agreements worth over €1.5 billion and present 530 regional investment projects.
With both presidents absent, von der Leyen will meet the prime ministers. Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko leads Kyiv’s delegation, stressing business and investment. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk works to defuse tensions, saying the conflict “benefits only one person - Vladimir Putin.”