Published on 6/24/2026
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the West, led by NATO, is “actively” preparing for war against Russia, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is absent from the event. A conference in Poland to reconstruct his country, following a diplomatic dispute.
Putin explained -In a speech to graduates of military academies during their meeting in the Kremlin- The Western coalition countries have so far been content to support Ukraine, but the Western discourse – as he put it – now includes public indications of preparation for a military confrontation with Moscow, in addition to a tangible increase in defense spending.
The Russian President added that, in his view, some countries in NATO and the European Union are using inaccurate allegations about a Russian threat to justify strengthening their military capabilities.
According to official data, about 40% of the Russian budget is allocated to the defense, security and armament sectors.
On the other hand, Putin stressed that his country supports a multipolar international system that guarantees security for all countries, but at the same time he stressed Moscow’s readiness to respond “quickly and appropriately” to any external or internal threats.
Putin has repeatedly stressed that his country alone faces what he described as the “collective West” represented by NATO, and accused the NATO countries of intensifying their efforts to organize hostile actions against them, stressing that Moscow will not allow those forces to inflict a “strategic defeat” on them.
This comes as Russia continues its attacks on several Ukrainian provinces. While Ukrainian forces are carrying out long-range strikes against Russian target sites, including their recent attacks on oil installations and vital bridges in Crimea.
It is noteworthy that Russia began its large-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022, while the European Union and NATO countries intensified military, financial and political support for Kiev.
Absence due to diplomatic tension
On the other hand, Ukraine announced on Tuesday that President Volodymyr Zelensky will not participate in a conference dedicated to the reconstruction of his country hosted by Poland this week, in light of the escalation of the dispute between the two countries against the backdrop of historical issues related to World War II.
This development comes after a controversy sparked by a name that Zelensky gave last month to one of the military units, describing it as “heroes of the Ukrainian rebel army,” a historical nationalist organization that participated in World War II and is accused of committing massacres against thousands of Poles.
Polish President Karol Navrotsky responded by withdrawing the Order of the White Eagle – the highest Polish award – from Zelensky.
In a symbolic move, the Ukrainian president returned the medal, while former Ukrainian presidents, Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Yushchenko, and Petro Poroshenko, announced the return of their medals in solidarity with him.
This dispute is expected to cast a shadow over the “Ukraine Recovery” conference scheduled to be held in the city of Gdańsk, which aims to mobilize political and economic support for post-war reconstruction.
In this regard, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgi Tykhi said that Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko will head the Ukrainian delegation, stressing the need to avoid “politicizing the conference” or turning it into an arena of disputes. He stressed the continuation of diplomatic communication with Warsaw.
In turn, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called for calming the dispute, noting the importance of maintaining future relations between the two countries, but he held Kiev responsible for the political crisis, calling for a reversal of the decision to name the military unit.
For his part, Zelensky accused some politicians in Poland of trying to achieve internal gains and inflame anti-Ukrainian sentiment, stressing that his country is “defending Europe, including Poland.”
In light of this tension, the European Union warned that the dispute between Warsaw and Kiev is in the Kremlin’s interest.
Union spokeswoman Paula Pino said, “There is only one beneficiary from this type of situation, and that is the aggressor in Ukraine, so we should not be led by his plans.” She added, “We have confidence in the ongoing discussions between Poland and Ukraine, and we are confident that the matter will be resolved.”
Poland has been one of Ukraine’s most prominent allies since the start of the Russian war, as it received hundreds of thousands of refugees and formed a major logistical center for transferring Western support to Kiev.
