Ukraine’s first lady halts trip to Poland amid diplomatic friction

Olena Zelenska, wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has cancelled her planned visit to Gdańsk to take part in an international conference on Ukraine’s reconstruction, amid reported tensions in Polish-Ukrainian relations.

According to Radio Zet, the University of Gdańsk, where Zelenska was scheduled to deliver an opening speech at the panel “Identity as a Skill for the Future: Education, Responsibility and Leadership,” was informed of the cancellation on the morning of June 24.

The information was also confirmed to journalists by university spokesperson Magdalena Nieczuja-Goniszewska.

“Zelenska was supposed to deliver the opening address. Her speech has been cancelled,” the spokesperson confirmed to the portal.

The latest tensions stem from a historical dispute over World War II events. In late May 2026, President Zelenskyy issued a decree naming a Ukrainian Special Operations Forces unit after the "Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army" (UPA), viewed in Ukraine as anti-Nazi and anti-Soviet fighters but accused by Poland of massacring tens of thousands of Polish civilians in the Volhynia region (1943-1945).

This prompted Polish President Karol Nawrocki to revoke Zelenskyy's Order of the White Eagle (Poland's highest state honour), leading several Ukrainian officials to return their Polish awards in response. Polish PM Donald Tusk has called for calm and dialogue, warning that the spat harms both nations strategically amid the ongoing war with Russia.

By Jeyhun Aghazada