Ukraine recovery conference opens in Gdańsk with 200 deals on the table, Zelensky absent after UPA row

The gathering

Gdańsk is hosting the annual Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2026) on 25 and 26 June, organised by Poland and Ukraine. More than four thousand participants from around 70 states (some sources put the figure at roughly 100) and 40 governments are expected, alongside investors, financial institutions and NGOs. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will open the event, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is among the attendees. The Polish government had originally extended a joint invitation signed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Zelensky, but the Ukrainian line-up has shifted in the final days.

This year the Ukrainian side participates at the highest government level, led by Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko.

Why Zelensky, his wife and the foreign minister are not coming

A diplomatic chill has run through Polish-Ukrainian relations since late May, when President Zelensky decided to give one of the Ukrainian Armed Forces units the name of the "Heroes of the UPA". In Poland the move was met with sharp criticism from the government and part of the political class. President Karol Nawrocki subsequently revoked Zelensky's Order of the White Eagle. In this atmosphere, the Ukrainian president, his wife Olena and Foreign Minister Andrij Sybiha all cancelled their planned trips to Gdańsk. A Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman explained that the conference does not require the mandatory presence of the foreign minister, because the emphasis is on governmental, economic, security, infrastructure, humanitarian and business aspects rather than the diplomatic dimension.

Our goal is to avoid the unnecessary politicisation of this international event, to focus on pragmatism and concrete decisions supporting Ukraine and Ukrainians at a time when it is especially needed — in the fifth year of full-scale aggression by the Russian Federation.

Government-Presidential row

Zelensky's absence has turned into a domestic political fight in Poland. Marcin Przydacz, the head of the International Policy Bureau in the presidential administration, wrote that the joint invitation meant both leaders were to act as hosts, and that by pulling out Zelensky had "exposed Prime Minister Tusk to ridicule". Tusk's chief of staff, Jan Grabiec, retorted that the entire episode, including the withdrawal of the Order of the White Eagle on the eve of a major world conference, amounted to sabotage by the presidential chancellery.

The conference will succeed despite sabotage by the Presidential Chancellery.

Five pillars, 200 agreements

The conference programme is built around five thematic pillars: business, security and defence, European Union integration, regional development, and human capital. Organisers say almost 200 proposals for contracts, agreements and memoranda have been submitted, several dozen of which concern Polish economic interests directly. Deputy Minister of State Assets Eliza Zeidler noted that negotiations over specific projects are ongoing and a signing schedule is being prepared. For the first time, Poland has introduced an explicit Security and Defence dimension into the URC format, including technology transfer and dual-use solutions.

Politicians debate in several halls, and in parallel, all the time, agreements and contracts are being signed.

Preceding events

A day before the main conference, the 15th Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of Poland and Ukraine opened at Gdańsk's Main Town Hall, co-chaired by Deputy Marshal of the Sejm Monika Wielichowska and Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Olena Kondratiuk. At the same time, the Polish-Ukrainian Solidarity Forum brought together local government representatives from both countries, with Gdańsk Mayor Aleksandra Dulkiewicz highlighting exchanges on energy resilience and civic crisis management. Both gatherings fed directly into the URC programme.