Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced her leadership of the Ukrainian delegation at the upcoming Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC-2026), scheduled for June 25-26 in Gdańsk, Poland. President Volodymyr Zelensky’s participation has been uncertain due to ongoing tensions with Polish President Karol Nawrocki.
Svyrydenko shared details about the delegation via Telegram on June 23, indicating it will include representatives from Ukrainian businesses, state company leaders, community representatives from across the nation, and government officials. She emphasized that URC-2026 will feature numerous events aimed at strengthening Ukraine, Poland, and their European partners.
“Our team’s clear objective is to secure concrete agreements that will enhance Ukraine’s defense capabilities and resilience while expanding economic cooperation with our partners. We anticipate signing several important agreements with international partners, particularly regarding the strengthening of our energy sector,” Svyrydenko stated.
She further highlighted Ukraine’s commitment to constructive and mutually beneficial partnerships for collective European security, economic development, and long-term prosperity.
European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, noted that URC-2026 is expected to attract over 5,000 participants and facilitate agreements for more than 20 projects aimed at Ukraine’s recovery.
While President Zelensky was initially expected to attend, his participation was called into question following a diplomatic spat with Nawrocki. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha suggested that the president would announce his final decision regarding attendance after assessing the situation on June 22.
On June 22, presidential communications advisor Dmytro Lytvyn informed reporters that discussions about Zelensky’s potential trip to URC-2026 were ongoing.
The first Ukraine Recovery Conference took place in Switzerland in 2022, followed by subsequent events in the UK in 2023, Germany in 2024, and Italy in 2025, where Zelensky participated in person.
In a related development, on June 19, President Nawrocki announced the revocation of Zelensky’s Order of the White Eagle, which had been awarded to him by former President Andrzej Duda in 2023. This decision stemmed from Zelensky’s decree to name a unit of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces after the Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).
On June 20, Zelensky confirmed he had returned the award by mail to Nawrocki’s office, while reiterating Kyiv’s openness to substantive cooperation with Warsaw.
In light of Nawrocki’s decision, Foreign Minister Sybiha announced his refusal of the Commander’s Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of Poland. Other Ukrainian officials, including the former head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, and former Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, also declined Polish honors.
On June 20, former Ukrainian presidents Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Yushchenko, and Petro Poroshenko also renounced their Orders of the White Eagle.
On May 26, Zelensky issued decree No. 440/2026, granting the Separate Center for Special Operations “North” of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces the honorary title “after the Heroes of the UPA.” This decision aimed to restore the historical traditions of the national military.
Nawrocki criticized the decree on May 29, suggesting that Zelensky should be stripped of the Order of the White Eagle. The decree sparked outrage among some Polish historians and politicians, who condemned it, asserting that UPA fighters committed crimes against Poles in Volhynia.
The Polish Institute of National Remembrance stated that the UPA was responsible for the “genocide in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia,” emphasizing that the creation of a cult around the UPA by the Ukrainian government should provoke resistance from those who remember the actions of this formation.
Former Polish President Lech Wałęsa, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has supported Ukraine and Zelensky, also condemned the decision, stating he would remove a badge in the colors of the Ukrainian flag that he had worn since the onset of the full-scale Russian invasion. He expressed that Zelensky’s honoring of UPA fighters offended him and the memory of those killed.
On June 5, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that Ukraine should seek solutions to resolve the issue, underscoring that he fully understood Nawrocki’s reaction and that no division would occur in Polish public opinion or government regarding historical matters.
In response to these statements, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Sybiha asserted that Ukrainian soldiers chose this name for themselves without any intention to offend the Polish people.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko will lead the Ukrainian delegation at URC-2026, amid uncertainties regarding President Zelensky's attendance due to diplomatic tensions with Poland. The conference aims to facilitate agreements for Ukraine's recovery and strengthen partnerships with European nations.