Zelenskyy Boycotts Reconstruction Conference as Nationalist Controversy Exposes Reactionary Tensions with Poland
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not attend the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk, highlighting the persistent dangers of nationalist glorification and the reactionary backlash from Poland’s right-wing establishment over the naming of a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will skip the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk, Poland, after weeks of mounting diplomatic discord rooted in the decision to name a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA)—a group with a deeply controversial legacy tied to nationalist violence. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko will instead lead the Ukrainian delegation, as the summit seeks to rally international support for Ukraine’s post-war recovery.
This annual summit, rotating among European capitals, is meant to foster solidarity and investment for Ukraine’s reconstruction. However, Zelenskyy’s absence comes after Polish President Karol Nawrocki, pandering to nationalist sentiment, announced he would revoke the Order of the White Eagle from Zelenskyy, calling the naming “outrageous”—a move that underscores the reactionary forces still shaping European politics.
“Ultimately, the position of the Ukrainian side did not change. History should not be an obstacle to the future, but a good future can only be built on truth,” Nawrocki said, invoking a selective reading of history to justify punitive measures.
“If anyone wants to be proud of the murderers of women and children, they cannot be surprised by the reaction,” added Marcin Przydacz, his foreign-policy adviser, deploying inflammatory rhetoric that stokes division rather than reconciliation.
Zelenskyy, in turn, returned the award and accused Polish officials of exploiting anti-Ukrainian sentiment to score points ahead of Poland’s 2024 parliamentary elections. He defended the naming as a decision by service members, warning that such divisive disputes only serve to undermine much-needed cooperation in the face of Russian aggression.
“Our service members choose a heroic name for their unit themselves, and as president and supreme commander-in-chief, I must support them,” Zelenskyy said, reflecting the complex dynamics of national memory and militarism.
“Without Ukraine, no one will be able to defend Poland. It is simply impossible,” he added, highlighting the interdependence of the two nations against external threats.
Poland’s pro-European Prime Minister Donald Tusk, co-hosting the conference, urged both sides to de-escalate, warning that further escalation would be a “strategic mistake.” The European Union echoed these concerns, noting that such divisions only play into the hands of Russia, and expressed hope that the summit could still advance its goals of reconstruction and peace.