Ukraine Secures €10B in Agreements at Gdańsk Recovery Conference

Kyiv secured more than €10 billion ($11.4 billion) in international support and investment agreements at the Ukraine Recovery Conference held in Poland, in a fresh show of global backing for the war-torn nation as it fends off Russia’s invasion.

The conference, which aims to mobilize international support for Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction, was held in Poland’s northern port city of Gdańsk from Thursday to Friday. 

The annual event, held in Poland for the first time, drew 7,500 participants, nearly 70 official delegations and representatives of 30 international organizations, Polish Deputy State Assets Minister Eliza Zeidler said.  

The gathering came at a sensitive moment in relations between Kyiv and Warsaw, whose close wartime partnership has been tested by a diplomatic row over World War II history. 

President Volodymyr Zelensky did not attend the conference, with Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko leading Ukraine’s delegation. 

Svyrydenko said on Friday that a total of 160 agreements worth more than €10 billion were signed during the conference. 

“Today once again confirmed that Ukraine and Europe share the same path, the same values, and the same future,” she wrote on X. 

Where the money goes 

The agreements covered financial support, transport, housing, infrastructure, energy and defense, including a €3.2 billion ($3.6 billion) first tranche under the EU’s Ukraine Support Loan and a $3.4 billion agreement with the World Bank. 

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They also included the launch of a European flagship fund for Ukraine’s reconstruction, a new transport support fund, €140 million ($159 million) for housing programs and an agreement with the European Investment Bank to restore roads in frontline regions. 

A tense backdrop 

The conference, co-hosted by Ukraine and Poland, was held amid diplomatic tensions between Kyiv and Warsaw. 

Last month, Zelensky named a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a World War II-era nationalist force, sparking outrage in Poland, where the group is mainly associated with wartime massacres of Polish civilians. 

In response, Polish President Karol Nawrocki, a nationalist, stripped Zelensky of Poland’s highest state decoration, further deepening the diplomatic row. 

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has called for calm and dialogue. 

Opening the conference on Thursday, Tusk said that Poland and Ukraine could “only build the future on truth, mutual respect and an understanding of history.” 

The Gdańsk meeting was the fifth edition of the conference held since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. 

Estonia will host the next Ukraine Recovery Conference in Tallinn in 2027.