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As diplomatic tensions between Poland and Ukraine show few signs of abating, Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s absence from Gdansk could become the conference’s most significant political signal.
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Ukraine’s president will skip the two-day “Ukraine Recovery Conference” in Gdansk, a high-level gathering on the post-war reconstruction of his country amid a deepening rift with Warsaw over the naming of a military unit after the World War II-era Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).
Relations between Ukraine and Poland are now facing their deepest crisis in years, driven by a sharp resurgence of what is viewed in both countries as one of the most painful and unresolved issues.
Ukraine Recovery Conference
Held in its current format since 2022, the Ukraine Recovery Conference is a major international forum devoted to Ukraine’s reconstruction. It is widely viewed as Europe’s largest infrastructure and economic project since the Marshall Plan, the US-led program that helped rebuild the continent after World War II.
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Oleksiy Kuleba said Kyiv expects to sign over 30 agreements worth more than €1.5bn during the conference, with deals expected to include projects in housing, infrastructure, and regional recovery efforts.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Development will present more than 530 investment projects from communities and regions In Gdansk over the next two days.
Among the senior international figures due to attend are German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, European Council president Antonio Costa and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
Von der Leyen is set to announce in Gdansk the first disbursement to Ukraine under the €90 billion loan package agreed by EU leaders in December, whose implementation was significantly delayed by Hungary’s veto.
The tranche, worth €3.2 billion, will help Kyiv cover its financial and budgetary needs. A second payment of about €5 billion, destined for drone production, is set to be announced before the end of the month.
The UK will announce a new package worth over €330 million (£290 million) to bolster Ukraine’s recovery. According to foreign secretary Yvette Cooper, the support will strengthen Ukraine’s energy sector and fund new programmes to modernise the country’s justice system.
But the conference is expected to be overshadowed by the ongoing Kyiv–Warsaw rift, which has prompted Zelensky but also Polish President Karol Nawrocki to boycott it.
Visions of the future and shadows of the past
Diplomatic tensions between Ukraine and Poland escalated after Zelenskyy named a military unit in honour of the World War II–era Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). In Ukraine, the UPA is widely commemorated for its role in resisting Soviet rule and fighting for Ukrainian independence.
However, in Poland, the group is primarily associated with the Volyn tragedy of 1943–45, during which tens of thousands of Poles were killed in what is now western Ukraine, then under Nazi occupation. The violence also claimed the lives of thousands of Ukrainians in retaliatory attacks carried out by Polish forces.
Zelenskyy’s decision was met with broad condemnation in Poland and Nawrocki stripped his Ukrainian counterpart of Poland’s highest honour, the Order of the White Eagle.
Following this decision, Zelenskyy returned the award to Warsaw and later announced that he will not be attending the conference.
Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, the Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy of Poland criticised Zelenskyy’s no-show, claiming Ukraine’s president is “making a huge mistake” and “is shooting himself in the foot.”
Some officials in Kyiv have privately expressed confusion that, after Nawrocki’s decision to strip Zelenskyy of his award and days of public criticism from the Polish presidency, Warsaw is now condemning his decision not to attend the conference.
Prime ministers lead the way
With neither Zelenskyy nor Polish President Karol Nawrocki attending the conference, von der Leyen will instead meet with the prime ministers of Ukraine and Poland to discuss the loan disbursement.
Ukraine’s delegation is led by the country’s Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and includes representatives of Ukrainian business, heads of state-owned companies, representatives of communities from across the country, as well as government officials and members of parliament.
Svyrydenko has signalled a deliberate shift in tone, emphasising business and investment opportunities over political tensions as relations between Warsaw and Kyiv have deteriorated in recent days.
“Our team has a clear task — to achieve concrete agreements that will enhance Ukraine’s defence capability and resilience, and expand economic cooperation with our partners,” she said.
The Polish delegation is led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who is seeking, if not to resolve the dispute, then at least to prevent it from escalating further.
“Given Poland’s strategic security, I will not have a hand in fuelling these tensions. It is in the long-term interests of Poland to build relations with Ukraine based on a vision of the future.”
Tusk’s diplomatic balancing act
Nawrocki’s decision — and particularly its timing — has been seen by some as targeting not only Zelenskyy but also Tusk, effectively setting him up to face difficulties in Gdansk.
Tusk said on Wednesday he had been consulted on Kyiv’s decision to cancel Zelensky’s attendance and sending Svyrydenko instead.
“I view this as something that may actually benefit the conference. There will be fewer emotions and a more substantive, policy-focused discussion.”
He also expressed hope that the conference will “serve as a step toward reducing tensions and emotions”, because “such escalation is certainly not needed either by us, the Polish people, or by Ukrainians.”
Tusk has repeatedly said that the diplomatic conflict between Poland and Ukraine benefits only one person: Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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