Zelenskyy to skip Ukraine Reconstruction Conference in Poland.

Good evening, I'm Maciej Mikos and you're watching World News Tonight live from Warsaw. Volodymyr Zelenskiy will skip this year's Ukraine recovery conference held in Poland this week amid a historical spat with Warsaw. We'll have more on that in just a moment but first here are tonight's headlines. The VisitGrad4 revived as Peter Modzio ends Orban-era isolation. The United Kingdom looking for its seventh prime minister since the Brexit referendum and dozens die in France as heat moves towards central Europe. Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskiy will not attend the Ukraine recovery forum held in the Polish coastal city of Gdańsk this week. Instead, Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko will represent the country. The announcement comes on the heels of tensions over the controversial naming of one of Ukraine's military units. Piotr Miszczuk has this report. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will not have a chance to exchange such friendly gestures at a major Ukraine-minded summit set to begin Thursday in the Polish port city of Gdańsk. I am leading Ukraine's delegation and our overall work at the Ukraine recovery conference 2026 in Gdańsk. President Zelenskiy, who co-signed invites for the event, will not physically be present at the annual conference for the first time in three years. This comes after a diplomatic row between Poland and Ukraine over Zelenskiy's decision in late May to name an army unit after a controversial nationalist group called the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, also known as the UPA, which killed up to 100,000 Poles during World War II. It is unacceptable because it ruins allied friendship. Memory and historical truth are the foundation for building friendly relations. I would expect the Ukrainian side to take our sensitivities into account. The strongest reaction to Zelenskiy's move came from the government-opposing Polish President Karol Nawrocki, who said he would consider stripping Zelenskiy of Poland's highest state honour, the Order of the White Eagle, which the Ukrainian leader was awarded by previous President Andrzej Duda in 2023. On Friday, Nawrocki's threat was made reality. I have decided to revoke the Order of the White Eagle from the President of Ukraine. In response, Zelenskiy mailed back his order, with several key Ukrainian politicians and former presidents also returning their Polish state awards. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the new escalation would harm Polish-Ukrainian ties. I will not contribute to fueling tensions in Polish-Ukrainian relations. I hope I will not be alone in this. Experts suggest Poland and Ukraine should follow in the footsteps of the Czech Republic and Germany, which came to an understanding over the difficult historical relations. We should be looking at the history as historians and make some kind of agreement and then go on. Amid the feud, several prominent Polish and Ukrainian media outlets have closed ranks in a joint appeal to remind politicians who their real enemy is. We're aware of the tragic events in Polish-Ukrainian history, which politicians exploit for their own purposes. Today, however, our shared task is to stop Putin's Russia. The whole affair did not stop Ukraine from allowing Poland to continue its search for the remains of Polish victims killed by the Ukrainian nationalists. On Monday, the second phase of the operation started in the village of Puzhniki. Earlier this month, the search for the remains of Polish victims in Huta Pieniacka resumed after nearly 10 years. For TVP World, I'm Piotr Miszczuk. Despite Volodymyr Zelensky's absence, the Polish city of Gdańsk is securing for the annual Ukraine recovery conference. It is estimated that the reconstruction of the war-torn country will cost up to $800 billion. Maciej Wilowski has the details. This is Gdańsk, a seaside city in the north of Poland. Starting Thursday, business leaders and politicians from around the world will gather here to attend Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026. It will be Poland's first time hosting the event, held every year since Russia's full-scale invasion, but this time, notably, without an important guest, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. With Ukraine's recent breakthroughs in the war, this year's focus may differ from previous editions. Ukraine's reconstruction could cost up to $800 billion, a daunting task that will require mobilizing foreign capital. Polish companies, with their proximity and logistical ties to Ukraine, could play a leading role in that effort. Many are already active on the Ukrainian market. They've generated around 10 billion zlotys, which is roughly 2.2 billion euros in revenues just like last year. And thanks to financial incentives offered by institutions like the Polish Development Bank, countless more Polish firms are willing to invest in the country. We also offer preferential loans to companies in Poland that are taking part in reconstruction and economic activity in Ukraine. We have the potential interest exceeding the allocated amount by three times. Joint infrastructure projects, like a proposed 80-kilometer extension of Poland's A4 motorway across the border to Lviv, have also been proposed and could be given the green light in the future. But future relations between Warsaw and Kyiv could determine whether these investments come to fruition. Maciej Wielowski for TVP World. Leaders of the Visegrád 4 came to Budapest on Tuesday for the first meeting of the regional cooperation format in years. After a period of political gridlock caused by tensions with Viktor Orban's government, new Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Modjar is looking to revive the group consisting of Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and his own country. We're going now live to our correspondent Kazimierz Wysiak in Budapest. Good evening, Kazimierz. How important is today's meeting and what issues have the leaders addressed? Good evening, Maciej. We are just about 30 minutes away from the capital city of Hungary, Budapest, in front of this lovely royal palace here, where all the leaders of the Visegrád group format have met prime ministers of these countries of Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia. And Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described it best in his post on his social media, saying we are back. This group was one of the most prominent groups inside the European Union in four years, but it has been a little bit on a freezer for the past two years. The leaders haven't met. Now they are here meeting again on the initiative of new Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Modjar. Indeed, groups such as these have... there is a lot of sense to these groups, because it allows these countries to coordinate their policies and their shared interests and to have a bigger voice in the EU. Speaking to the press here, Peter Modjar said that he wants to see this group strong again and present much more even than before. The most important message of today's meeting is exactly that, that all participants, Slovakia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary are all committed towards the reinforcing and strengthening of our cooperation. We wish to establish a V4 cooperation that is strong. Now, when it comes to concrete examples of how this group could work together, Peter Modjar mentioned the north-south corridor. That's a system of rail connecting, which would connect Poland from the north, from Gdańsk all the way down to Hungary, and also a connection of energy pipelines from the LNG terminal in the north of Poland, as Peter Modjar promised, to diversify a little bit, at least, from Russian energy sources. That's one of the main differences from his predecessor, Viktor Orban, very much pro-Russian Prime Minister, who blocked crucial aid for Ukraine for years, but also refused to diversify from Russian energy sources. So Peter Modjar wants to coordinate inside the V4 to be able to achieve that goal, to diversify from these energy sources. Now, interestingly, in the group, there is also Slovakia, which is taking over the presidency, starting with July, over this group. And Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fischer was seen as Viktor Orban's ally. He actually went to Moscow for the parade, the victory parade, multiple times. And now he seems to be back on track of his usual pragmatism when it comes to politics. He says he wants to cooperate here in the V4, even though Peter Modjar and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk very much would like to see continued support for Ukraine. So let's listen to a few words from Robert Fischer, the Slovakian Prime Minister, and his approach to the V4 group. On behalf of the V4, I wish to say that we don't only want to be object of decisions or subjects of decisions who accept something on the platform of the European Union or other organizations, but we want to be co-initiators of these decisions and active to the maximum extent. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaking here to the press also said that, well, we don't have to always agree on everything inside the V4, but still we want to have a voice, we want to be present in Europe again. So just to remind you what he said in the beginning, we are back. The V4 group format seems to be revived once again, thanks to Peter Modjar and his initiative. And that was Kazimierz Wysiak reporting from Hungary. Thank you very much, Kazimierz. South Korea welcomes any North Korean soldier captured in Ukraine. Seoul announced Tuesday could this lead to mass defections among the ranks of the 15,000 Pyongyang troops taking part in the Russian invasion. Yulia Gdula has the details. South Korea will accept all North Korean prisoners of war captured by Ukraine while fighting for Russia. North Korean prisoners of war are, under our constitution, nationals of the Republic of Korea. Accordingly, if these individuals wish to come to South Korea, we will accept all of them, and in accordance with the principles of international law, we absolutely cannot accept any forced repatriation to Russia or North Korea against their free will. The announcement comes as Ukraine continues to hold two North Korean soldiers captured by Kiev's forces in early 2025. Both expressed their willingness to be transferred to South Korea. The question is now whether more North Korean troops will choose to surrender voluntarily, seeing the rare opportunity to break away from the regime. If a soldier surrenders and then actually migrates to South Korea, this might have very, very severe consequences for the family that stayed behind. The deployment of North Korean troops stems from the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty signed by Russia and North Korea in 2024. The treaty's key provision commits both countries to come to each other's defence with all means in their possession if either is attacked. Recently, relations between our countries have acquired a special trusting and friendly character, an allied character. Since then, up to 15,000 North Korean soldiers have reportedly been sent to support Russian operations. It's fair to say that North Korea has stopped Russia from losing this war. North Korea's contribution has been strategically vital. North Korea's artillery shells are a strategic imperative. Without North Korean support, Vladimir Putin would fail in his war in Ukraine. It might have actually the paradoxical effect, or maybe not so paradoxical effect, that North Korea limits the number of soldiers it sends because it is afraid of defections. North Korean military involvement in Ukraine and prisoner-of-war issues will be discussed by the South Korean and Ukrainian foreign ministers in Seoul on June 30th. Britain will have its seventh prime minister since the Brexit referendum 10 years ago. Will Andy Burnham become the UK's next head of government? That's the question on everybody's lips after Keir Starmer announced his resignation. And so we're going now live to our chief international correspondent Alex Kadir in London. Good evening, Alex. So can Andy Burnham be sure of his chances, given the fact that he has already lost twice the race for the Labour Party leadership? Yeah, well, the answer to that question, Maciej, is yes. And it's very interesting the way you formulated that question, because Andy Burnham lost the leadership race in 2010 and 2015. Those two contests feel like a world away from British politics today. And the reason why Andy Burnham is almost certain to be picked as the next leader of the Labour Party and therefore the next British prime minister is because we are now in a different political world, where the main opposition, according to the polls, is Nigel Farage and the right-wing pro-Brexit Reform Party. Andy Burnham is seen within the Labour Party as the right man for the job, the right man to counter that reform wave. The reason behind that is because he was, of course, the mayor of Greater Manchester, representing those key Red Wall constituencies, as they are called in the north of England. Those pro-Brexit but also possibly pro-Labour constituencies. He was the mayor of the Greater Manchester and now the MP for Makefield, one of those very constituencies. The facts on the ground, the facts when it comes to the battle for the Labour Party, for that leadership, are also very clear. Those key possible contenders, Wes Streeting, the health secretary and others, have fallen in line behind Andy Burnham. They have gone no-contest because, clearly, they want to avoid what we have seen in a decade of turmoil, of infighting, not just in the Labour Party but in the Conservative Party. You rightly pointed out those six prime ministers, now soon to be seven in the last decade. Andy Burnham, we're about three weeks and three days if the process goes smoothly to seeing that new prime minister. We've heard from Keir Starmer from Downing Street saying they will make no major decisions in that time. Still, a lot of questions. What will an Andy Burnham government look like? Whether or not, on domestic policies, he will continue what he did in Manchester, which is more public spending on public services. A lot of questions about how that will be funded in a country that is economically struggling like the UK. Huge questions on foreign policy. Not clear whether or not Burnham, who personally voted for Remain, wants a closer relationship with the European Union, politically and historically, will continue to do so. His constituency, as I said, very pro-leaving the EU. So a lot of questions about what Andy Burnham will look like. Not so much questions on whether or not he will be the next prime minister. That is almost certain, my friend. So Alex, I have one more question to you. As you have already mentioned, today marks 10 years since the UK decided to leave the EU. How is this decision commented upon a decade later? Well, it's almost as divisive today as it was 10 years ago. The British public, the majority now, probably want to rejoin the EU. That's according to most polling. A lot of them, more of them, think that Brexit has not been a success. But what is really fascinating is that the majority also don't want a second referendum. They don't want to go back in the psychodrama, in the infighting of political parties, as we've seen for the last 10 years. They want a different way. And also, crucially, the reality on the ground is that the UK is not in the strongest position to be able to negotiate a good deal with the European Union, which, of course, feels a little bit burnt by this Brexit vote. And also, possibly, politically, wants to make it very clear that leaving the EU, as we have seen in the UK, is something that causes pain to the country that does it. So, again, some tricky politics ahead for Andy Burnham, for those who want to rejoin the European Union. The British public are, frankly, sick and tired of any conversations about Brexit. Now, I caught up with a minister in Keir Starmer's government, Luke Pollard, who's a defence minister in that Starmer government. Questions, of course, about whether or not he will stay there under the next government, but we don't have the answer to that. I asked him how he reflects 10 years after Brexit. So, whatever the decision taken 10 years ago, we need to make sure that, within NATO, we're stronger and cooperate more with our friends, that we are stronger as a continent against the threats that we face, and that, wherever possible, we remove those needless trade barriers, the extra costs and forms that Brexit put in place, so our farmers, our fishers, our businesses can import and export to our European friends at a lower cost than they're doing because of Brexit. So, Maciek, frustration, divisions, perhaps some regret, but also a lot of questions about what direction this country will now take under a Bonham government. That was Alex Kedija reporting straight from London. Thank you very much, Alex. Lithuania's prime minister, Inga Ruginiena, and her cabinet resigned on Tuesday in a planned reshuffle of the government and the ruling coalition. The announcement by Ruginiena comes after her Social Democratic Party decided earlier this month to expel the populist Nemunas Dawn party from the coalition, whose leader was previously found guilty of making anti-Semitic statements. The Social Democratic Party subsequently elected Mindaugas Sinkevičius as its chairman, and a new coalition deal was agreed last week. President Gitanas Nauseda will now present Sinkevičius' candidacy for the role of prime minister to parliament within the next 15 days. The new prime minister will then present his proposed cabinet. A heatwave has engulfed Europe and claimed the lives of 18 people in France alone. As it moves across the continent, Poland braces for extreme temperatures of some 40 degrees Celsius this weekend. Kamil Różański has this report. Summer just started in Europe, and already the season is bringing the sweltering heat and a second heatwave. Meteorologists have dubbed it a heat dome, as temperatures reach above 40 degrees Celsius moving across the continent. Since we still have these high-pressure conditions at high altitude, this will compress the hot air. And when you compress hot air, it becomes even hotter. Experts warn this kind of increasingly hotter summer is not going away as each year brings record-breaking numbers. It's clearly a window into what awaits us in the future and in the second half of the century. With episodes of extreme heat and heatwaves, that will be very intense, probably occurring earlier and earlier in the year, but also later and later. Scorching temperatures have already claimed the lives of 18 people in France, two of them being children. To ensure public safety, schools in France have been closed. Across Western Europe, red weather alerts have been issued with cities opening up pools and cooling stations. There's lots of people living in homes which are overheating. They've got health problems. I know it sounds a bit negative. I love the sunshine, but for many people, it's an absolute nightmare. To beat the heat, people have been avoiding the daytime and opting instead to enjoy a cooler evening. For Parisians, that entails taking a dip in the canals or lounging in the park. I think it's a reality we can no longer deny, even on an individual level, like when we come to a park at 11pm to find a bit of cool air. The fact is global warming is very much here. According to the World Meteorological Organization, Europe is warming at a rate twice the global average. For Poland, the heat dome will cause the thermometer to spike during the weekend. Western Poland will be at the epicenter, potentially breaking the country's highest recorded temperature of 40.2 degrees Celsius set in 1921. For TVP World, I'm Kamil Różański. Will current tensions with Poland affect Ukraine's EU accession process? How has Brexit changed Europe? And what is the future of negotiations with Russia? And to talk about it all, we're joined by Carl Bildt, a former Swedish Prime Minister. Good evening, sir. Good evening. So exactly 32 years ago, you signed a treaty which resulted in the enlargement of the EU by Sweden, Finland and Austria. You remember the day. Now, the whole process went rather smoothly then. Now, this year, however, Hungary has already decided to block Ukraine's fast track to the EU. And now, Kyiv is rather conflicted with Warsaw, of its controversial naming of one of the military units, which caused criticism in Poland. Now, drawing from your experience, how do you rate Ukraine's accession perspectives, given the latest developments? Well, first, I think we have to recognize that enlargement is a strategic process. In my opinion, you could say that the enlargement with Sweden, Finland and Austria was not a big thing for Europe. But the big enlargement that was done there, after Poland notably, was a strategic imperative. And with the three Baltic states, we give stability to this part of Europe after the demise of the Soviet Empire. And the same now with Ukraine. It is a strategic imperative for stability in the east of Europe that we integrate Ukraine and Moldova in the European Union. There will be lots of problems. There will be lots of challenges. There will be lots of bumps in the road. That was the case in all previous enlargements. But it's very, very important that we keep the strategic perspective clear and what needs to be done. And that we understand the consequences of failure, which would be instability and play into the hands of other eastern powers, notably Russia. And yet these tensions between the two nations, between Poland and Ukraine, they seem to grow. Ukraine's president Zelensky decided not to attend this year's Ukraine recovery forum in Gdańsk. How do you interpret his decision? Well, I'm not quite certain that was the wisest thing that he has decided. But back to the broader perspective, I mean, the history of Europe is written in blood. All of it. There's no border in Europe that hasn't been drawn in blood over centuries. And the task of European integration is to overcome all of these tensions of the past. And that has been done. I mean, you saw the leaders of Germany and France, holding their hands over the battlefields of Verdun and all of the horrors. I've been involved in the Balkans, trying to get the leaders of the Balkans to go for reconciliation in spite of the genocide and the horribles of Srebrenica. We see these days Armenia and Turkey starting to talk with each other after the genocide of Armenians. So there's a lot at hand, to be precise. If you know the behavior of the Swedish forces way back in Poland, it's not something that we feel particularly proud of, to put it very mildly. There's blood all over the place. And it's only by overcoming this and focusing on the task for the future that we can build a more peaceful and prosperous Europe. It's difficult. And there's often sometimes the temptation to play politics with feelings. With prejudices. But that is to play with life. Right. But to plan future, it's good to learn from the mistakes of the past. So we've begun with one anniversary. It's also the 10th anniversary of Brexit today. Now, yes, after all these years, after this decade, how do you rate this move? Well, I mean, my view might not be the most important. The most important is to look at where the Brits are at the moment. If you look at all opinion polls, by a vast majority, they think it was a mistake. And if you look at what's been happening since then, I mean, there's been sort of instability in the politics of the UK. There's been clearly less impressive economic performance. So Brexit was, to put it very mildly, the wrong decision. And it's recognized as such by a vast majority of the Brits. Right. Now, next week, Poland is signing a deal to purchase three submarines from Sweden. In your opinion, how will it affect the NATO deterrence capabilities in the Baltic Sea? I think it's very important that we have a strong NATO presence in the Baltic Sea. And the submarine component is a very important part of that. We need a surface component. We need an air component. We need intelligence cooperation. We have all of that between Sweden and Poland. But the fact that we are now building the same submarines, of course, that facilitates cooperation between our respective forces and will, I think, assure supremacy for the NATO forces in the Baltic Sea area. And that is obviously of large importance, not only for Sweden and Poland, but for all of the countries in the Baltic area. So it's an important deal, no question. Today, Moscow sent a signal that it's ready to open peace negotiations with the EU. Well, so far, Europe has failed to come up with a common stance on what to do with Russia, right, how to talk with Vladimir Putin. Now, in this regard, can Europe really hope to play a leading role in these negotiations? And is this, you know, indecisiveness something that the Kremlin would like to exploit? Well, I mean, what we must do, are doing and must continue to do, is play a leading role in supporting Ukraine. It is for Ukraine to talk with Russia and for Russia to talk with Ukraine. They are the ones that are going to make a deal of whatever sort. But it's up to them. Our task is, of course, to support Ukraine, because Russia is aggressive. And the sovereignty and territorial integrity, sovereignty of Ukraine is a fundamental interest, certainly for Poland, certainly for Sweden, certainly for the rest of Europe. So I don't think the role of Europe is to sit there and do a compromise between the Ukrainians and the Russians. We are supporters of Ukraine. And if there's anything that they will ask us to do, to facilitate talks or facilitate a solution, I think we should be ready to do it. But the prime purpose or task of us is to support the position of Ukraine. Right. We also have a quote from Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. He said, I don't even want to suspect that the Alaska summit was designed to buy time for Kiev to arm itself. But that's how it turned out. Given the fact that the U.S. has abandoned its role as an impartial negotiator in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, should we expect more coordinated actions from the U.S. and Europe regarding Putin's regime? I think that would be desirable. And prior to the meeting in Anchorage, there was a fairly close cooperation. After some turmoil, there was a fairly close coordination and same policy line between the Europeans and Americans. We were all demanding some immediate ceasefire and then talks. But then what happened behind the closed doors in Anchorage, I don't know. But the Russians evidently believe, rightly or not, that they had some sort of understanding with Trump, that Trump was going to press Zelensky to accept key Russian demands in Donetsk. And they are now somewhat unhappy with Trump that he's not been able to deliver Zelensky. Historians will have to debate exactly what happened. But the Russian perception, as expressed by Sergei Lavrov, is clearly that one. I think that's unrealistic. And I think was encouraged by the sounds coming out of the G7 meeting in Evian, where evidently Trump started to understand that Russia is not winning this war. And the way to move forward towards a ceasefire is to have increased pressure on Russia and hopefully better coordination between the Europeans and Americans. Carl Bildt, former Swedish Prime Minister, was our guest this evening. Thank you so much, sir. Thank you. And thank you for watching and stay with us for more interviews and news here on TVP World.