Sopot (Poland) (AFP) – When Wojciech Kostrzewa, who represents some of Poland's biggest firms, went on a Polish economic mission to Kyiv last month, he found a "very good" atmosphere and a collaborative spirit with his Ukrainian counterparts.
Issued on: 29/06/2026 - 16:20
3 min Reading time
But a political row erupted just days later over events that took place over 80 years ago.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky infuriated Poles by signing a decree naming a military unit after the UPA, nationalist insurgents during World War II who also took part in massacres against Poles. The dispute soon spiralled into the worst between the neighbours and allies since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022 -- culminating in Zelensky skipping the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdansk. Now Kostrzewa, who heads a business union, is appealing to both sides to set the feuding aside and focus on the economy. "It's about building the future and not being busy with the past," the influential entrepreneur told AFP in Poland's Baltic resort of Sopot.
'It's about building the future and not being busy with the past,' says Polish businessman Wojciech Kostrzewa © Wojtek RADWANSKI / AFP
