Presidential Advisor on Communications Dmytro Lytvyn has reported that discussions regarding the possibility of a trip by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the Ukraine Recovery Conference URC2026, scheduled for June 25-26 in Gdańsk, Poland, are still ongoing.
Answering questions from journalists on Monday as to whether a decision has already been made regarding the visit of the head of the Ukrainian state to the conference, Lytvyn replied: "They are still analyzing."
Last week, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha announced that Zelenskyy would declare his decision on whether or not to participate in the conference on Monday, June 22. At the same time, he added that many international partners expressed solidarity with Ukraine’s position and condemned the actions of President of Poland Karol Nawrocki, who stripped the Ukrainian people in the person of the President of Ukraine of the Polish Order of the White Eagle.
As reported, on June 19, President of the Republic of Poland Karol Nawrocki announced his decision to strip Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle, citing differences over historical memory and attitudes toward the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). According to him, for the majority of Polish society, the UPA remains a formation responsible for crimes against citizens of the Polish Republic during World War II. Nawrocki also expressed disagreement with Zelenskyy’s decision to grant the Separate Special Operations Center North of the Special Operations Forces of the AFU the honorary title in honor of the Heroes of the UPA.
Following this, the second president of Ukraine (1994-2005) Leonid Kuchma, the third president of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko (2005-2010), and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (1998-2000, 2005-2007) Borys Tarasiuk renounced the Polish Order of the White Eagle. A number of current and former statesmen also announced their refusal of several Polish state awards.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the Order of the White Eagle is a symbol of trust of the Polish state and gratitude of the people, and emphasized that Ukraine respects Poland’s contribution to the joint struggle against Russian aggression, but noted that Ukraine will not argue over decisions regarding awards if similar symbols remain with Catherine the Great, Benito Mussolini, and Gerhard Schröder.
