Kyiv mayor at Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk: 'Ukraine must do exactly what Poland did'
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko told the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk that, despite recent diplomatic tensions between the two countries, the atmosphere at the gathering was friendly, and that Ukraine should look to Poland as a model for infrastructure development and modernisation.
Published on 26/06/2026 - 16:43 GMT+2
Klitschko was among the prominent guests at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in Gdańsk, taking part in a panel titled "Recovery Despite the War - Future in the Making".
Asked at a press briefing about the atmosphere at the conference – given the diplomatic dispute between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Polish President Karol Nawrocki – Klitschko said relations on the ground were warm.
"We have to look to the future and try to find synergies so that we can succeed together. That is the main goal of this conference. Without looking back, we must build the present and build the future together," he told reporters.
'We must do it exactly the way Poland did'
Klitschko was emphatic that Ukraine should follow Poland's example in its approach to national development.
"Whenever I come to Poland, I feel a twinge of envy. I first visited Poland in Soviet times, in 1988. I remember how poor Poland was. It was one big bazaar. I come to Poland every year. I see the changes that have taken place in Poland and now Poland is one of the countries in Europe which are among the most successful, where there have been huge changes in infrastructure. The quality of life of its citizens is a perfect example of this. That means we have to do exactly what Poland has done."
Fighting Russian propaganda
Klitschko was also asked by journalists how Ukraine can counter Russian propaganda.
"Through news, through information. They are just as important as weapons. It is also very important to provide citizens with clear, objective and truthful information," the mayor said. "We inform our citizens. We do this digitally, using our resources to stop propaganda and to reduce the influence that Russia has always had on the population of Ukraine," he added.
The heat is here – but Kyiv is already thinking about winter
With summer only just underway, reporters pressed Klitschko on how Kyiv will cope when another harsh winter arrives.
"We are now implementing a heating supply system for the entire city. Some of the work was carried out in previous years. (...) It is an extremely difficult task, given that it was built seven years after the Second World War. Dozens of institutes worked on it, and today we face three challenges: financial resources, human resources, and time," he said.
The mayor added that a stable Ukraine would bring stability to the entire region.
Video editor • Pawel Glogowski
