Ukrainian PM to Lead Delegation to Ukraine Recovery Conference Amid Poland Diplomatic Row

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko on Tuesday announced she will lead Kyiv’s delegation to this week’s Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy set to skip the event amid a growing diplomatic dispute with his Polish counterpart, Karol Nawrocki.

“I am leading Ukraine’s delegation and our overall work at the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026 in Gdańsk,” wrote Svyrydenko on X. The Ukrainian team will include business leaders, officials, lawmakers and local community representatives looking to secure “concrete agreements” on Ukraine’s defense capabilities, resilience and energy sector, she said.

The conference, which is co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine and set to take place from June 25 to 26, is aimed at rallying international backing for Ukraine’s reconstruction and securing investment for the country’s war-torn businesses.

Svyrydenko’s announcement lands amid a bitter spat between Warsaw and Kyiv. Nawrocki on Friday stripped Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle — Poland’s most prestigious medal — after Kyiv named a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, a World War II-era force responsible for killing tens of thousands of Poles in Volhynia.

The fallout has escalated quickly, with several Ukrainian officials returning their Polish honors, and three former Ukrainian presidents giving up their own Orders of the White Eagle. Zelenskyy also sent his medal back to Warsaw.

The clash between the two heads of state has also provoked a domestic rift in Poland. On Monday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government accused Nawrocki of making a strategic blunder, arguing that Warsaw must preserve its role as one of Kyiv’s most important allies against Russia and as a future player in the country’s reconstruction.