Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has decided not to attend the Ukraine Recovery Conference being held in Poland.

According to reports from AFP and other outlets on June 23 (local time), Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced that she plans to lead a delegation to the conference, which is scheduled to take place in Poland on June 25.

This announcement effectively confirms President Zelenskyy's absence.

The decision, made just two days before the conference, is seen as a repercussion of the Polish government's recent revocation of a medal awarded to President Zelenskyy due to historical tensions.

The situation was triggered last month when President Zelenskyy bestowed the honorary title "Heroes of the UPA" upon the Ukrainian military's Northern Independent Special Operations Center.

The UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army) was a Ukrainian nationalist armed organization that fought against the Soviet Union during World War II, and it remains an extremely sensitive subject between Ukraine and Poland.

This is because some units are suspected of having collaborated with the Nazis and participating in the Volhynia (known as Volyn in Ukraine) massacres, in which approximately 100,000 Poles were killed between 1943 and 1944.

Ultimately, Polish President Karol Nawrocki revoked the medal that had been awarded to President Zelenskyy, and Zelenskyy voluntarily returned the medal on June 20.

The Ukraine Recovery Conference is an international event held annually since 2022 to support the restoration and reconstruction of war-torn Ukraine.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)