Key events
Ukraine and Poland’s bitter dispute over past casts shadow on contemporary relations
Separately, Ukraine and Poland are embroiled in a bitter dispute over Kyiv’s decision to rename a contemporary Ukrainian army unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).
Poland holds it responsible for ethnic killings of up to 100,000 Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia during the second world war – and in 2016 adopted a parliamentary resolution calling it a genocide – but it is celebrated in Ukraine for their fight for Ukrainian independence and resistance against the Soviet forces.
On Friday, Polish president Karol Nawrocki stripped Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the country’s top honour in retaliation for the move, prompting three former Ukrainian presidents and other senior officials to also return their state awards to Poland.
Announcing his decision on Friday night, Nawrocki said:
“Poland has repeatedly signalled the particular importance of this issue to the Ukrainian side. We conveyed our position and expectation that the consequences of this decision for relations between our states be reconsidered. Ultimately, the position of the Ukrainian side did not change. History should not be an obstacle to the future, but a good future can only be built on truth.”
In an interview posted on X last night, Zelenskyy said Ukraine and Poland cannot be “anything but partners and friends,” but warned that a political struggle could end in a “very dangerous escalation.”
But he blamed the Polish president for the conflict, claiming he is on political manoeuvres ahead of Poland’s 2027 parliamentary elections.
“Our service members choose a heroic name for their unit themselves, and as president and supreme commander-in-chief, I must support them,” he said. “Without Ukraine, no one will be able to defend Poland. It is simply impossible.”
Poland’s pro-European prime minister Donald Tusk – who previously distanced himself from Nawrocki’s decision – said that rekindling the old disagreements was “a strategic mistake that will harm both sides: business-wise, geopolitically, and reputationally.”
Zelenskyy was widely expected to attend the Ukraine Recovery Conference in the Polish city of Gdańsk later this week, but this is no longer certain, putting the hosts in a potentially embarrasing position of having to talk about Ukraine without its leader.
One to watch this week.
Morning opening: Ukrainian drones briefly disrupt Moscow’s airports as Zelenskyy pledges to ‘bring war back to Russia’
Jakub Krupa
Nearly 60 Ukrainian drones were intercepted heading for Moscow last night, forcing the capital’s airports to briefly suspend its operations during the attack.
In total, Russia reportedly downed just over 300 drones across the country.
Meanwhile, a Russian drone attack killed three members of one family, including a 13-year-old boy, in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, regional prosecutors said, as quoted by Reuters.
Last night, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview that “our defence industry, our defence forces … have begun the process of bringing the war back to Russia.”
“The Russians are attacking us every day – and we will strike back every day. Our response will grow stronger with each passing day.”
It is the latest sign of the momentum shifting in the Russian aggression of Ukraine, as discussed by the G7 and EU leaders last week.
Elsewhere, I will be obviously keeping an eye on the UK where prime minister Keir Starmer could announce plans for his exit from the post today, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum in 2016.
Our main UK coverage, led by Andrew Sparrow, is here:
But I will be also looking at yet another day of extreme temperatures across Europe, two high-profile diplomatic spats between Trump and Italy’s Meloni and Zelenskyy and Poland’s Nawrocki, and other news lines from across the continent.
It’s Monday, 22 June 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.