Poland warns Russia may exploit Polish-Ukrainian diplomatic crisis

Vladimir Zelensky did not attend the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk on June 25–26, sending Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko in his place.

This came against the backdrop of a diplomatic rift between Kyiv and Warsaw over disagreements on issues related to the history of the Second World War.

Conference in the shadow of a diplomatic scandal

The fifth annual Ukraine Recovery Conference, jointly organized by Poland and Ukraine, brought together more than 5,000 politicians, diplomats, and investors in the Baltic port city. Svyrydenko used the platform to announce the signing of more than 160 agreements worth over €10 billion, as well as a first tranche of €3.2 billion under a new EU financial support instrument totaling €90 billion.

Zelensky’s absence cast a shadow over the event. Polish media reported on June 23 that the Ukrainian president had canceled his plans to attend the conference amid an escalating diplomatic scandal. Polish Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz confirmed that Zelensky “will not come to this conference,” according to the newspaper Rzeczpospolita. Polish President Karol Nawrocki also did not attend the event; his administration stated that Prime Minister Donald Tusk had not sent him an invitation.

The Order of the White Eagle and the UPA affair

The crisis erupted after Zelensky, by presidential decree on May 26, awarded the honorary title “Heroes of the UPA” to one of the special operations forces units. The UPA — the Ukrainian Insurgent Army — is a nationalist organization from the Second World War era that Poland holds responsible for the mass killing of approximately 100,000 Polish civilians in Volhynia between 1943 and 1945.

On June 19, Nawrocki stripped Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle — Poland’s highest state honor, which Zelensky had been awarded in 2023 by former President Andrzej Duda. In response, Zelensky mailed the order back to Warsaw. Following his lead, in a show of solidarity, Ukraine’s foreign minister, a close adviser to the Ukrainian president, and Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland all returned their Polish decorations.

Russia watches from the sidelines

On July 1, Poland warned that Moscow might attempt to exploit the bilateral tensions for its own benefit. Tomasz Siemoniak, the minister overseeing the intelligence services, said on radio RMF FM that Polish intelligence agencies were preparing for possible Russian sabotage operations “aimed at stoking tensions between Poles and Ukrainians.” According to Siemoniak, Western intelligence services are also concerned about the threat of Russian hybrid or kinetic attacks against Poland and the Baltic states.

Zelensky himself warned that Poland “cannot be fully safe from Russian aggression without an independent Ukraine.” According to NBC News, the disagreements are emerging against the backdrop of war fatigue already taking hold in Poland, driven by the influx of refugees and the economic burden of supporting Ukraine.