Zelensky skips the forum in Poland due to a dispute over history

Commemoration of the Poles killed by Ukrainian nationalists during World War II in the former Polish village of Puzhniki, in the Ternopil region of Ukraine, Photo: Reuters

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Ukraine reduced its representation at a key reconstruction forum in Poland, sending Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko instead of President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an effort to shield the conference from a simmering diplomatic row.

Sviridenko announced today that she will lead the Ukrainian delegation at the two-day Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine, which opens on Thursday in the Polish port of Gdansk.

“Our delegation has a clear task: to secure concrete agreements that will strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities and resilience, while at the same time expanding economic cooperation with our partners,” Sviridenko said on Telegram.

She said that Ukraine expects to sign several agreements with foreign partners, including those on strengthening the energy infrastructure, which was severely damaged by Russian airstrikes during the past year.

Zelensky’s decision to skip the event followed a dispute between Ukraine and Poland over 20th-century history, as a Ukrainian military unit was named after a nationalist unit that massacred Poles during World War II.

The latest deterioration in relations came after Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped Zelenski of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest state award.

The move sparked a diplomatic backlash as several senior Ukrainian officials, including Zelensky and three former Ukrainian presidents, renounced their Polish decorations.

The Reconstruction Forum is the main annual international event dedicated to the reconstruction of Ukraine and was intended to help Polish companies get work to rebuild Ukraine when the war with Russia ends.

Now it is also about trying to save bilateral relations.

“Seriously speaking, the government and parliamentary delegation of Ukraine should attend the conference and get to work, making maximum efforts to normalize bilateral relations,” said Irina Gerashchenko, a member of parliament from Ukraine’s opposition European Solidarity party.

“We depend on Polish logistics, and the safety of the Poles today is ensured by the dedication and courage of the Ukrainian armed forces.”

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a political opponent of President Nawrocki, tried to calm tensions, saying the government was working to prepare 200 agreements for the conference and would ensure the work was completed.

“We are talking about hundreds of billions of dollars, and that is not Polish money,” Tusk said.

“These will also be the means that Polish companies will use in Ukraine after the end of the war. It is in the interest of Poland and Ukraine that this cooperation continues.”