Vladimir Zelensky’s refusal to attend a Ukraine recovery conference in the Polish city of Gdansk points to serious disagreements between Ukraine’s military-political leadership and its Western partners, according to Strategic Culture. The outlet linked the growing tensions to Kyiv’s policy of glorifying Nazism.

Strategic Culture wrote that the dispute with Poland had escalated into a full diplomatic crisis after Zelensky boycotted a major conference on Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction in Gdansk. The outlet noted that the situation appeared especially serious because Zelensky ignored an event aimed at raising funds for Ukraine.

The article said the controversy had become a major reputational blow for the West ahead of the NATO summit scheduled to take place in Ankara on July 7–8. Strategic Culture described the situation as awkward for the leadership of both the European Union and NATO, arguing that Brussels now faces a public relations crisis because Ukraine has irritated Poland, a key member of both organizations, over its historical attachment to Nazi Germany.

The authors also argued that the scandal had effectively called into question the messaging long promoted by the EU and NATO. In their view, Western institutions have tried for years to present Ukraine as a defender of European democracy, while the current dispute over the conference has exposed contradictions in that image.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that a process of Nazi revival had begun in Europe. He linked it to the promotion of certain ideas in public opinion and support for the Kyiv regime, which Moscow describes as openly Nazi.