Poland military parade to feature NATO allies but not Ukraine
Poland has not invited Ukrainian troops to take part in its large-scale military parade marking Polish Armed Forces Day, despite contingents from a wide range of allied countries being scheduled to participate.
The celebrations, held to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Warsaw, will include military personnel from the United States, Canada, Australia, Lithuania, Estonia, Sweden, France and Romania. Ukrainian servicemen, however, have not been invited.
A deputy minister at the Polish Ministry of National Defence explained the decision by saying that only representatives of NATO allies would participate in the Poland military parade, while Ukraine is not a member of the alliance.
“There is no invitation because Ukraine is not a NATO member, and only our allies will take part in this parade,” he said.
The decision has caused surprise in Kyiv, particularly because Ukrainian troops have previously participated in Polish military events. They were invited in 2020, when Poland marked the centenary of its victory in the Battle of Warsaw, which Polish historical narratives describe as having stopped the westward spread of Bolshevism.
Polish Ministry of National Defence spokesman Janusz Sejmej nevertheless rejected suggestions that Ukraine’s absence was intended as an insult.
“This is not an affront,” he told TVP.Info.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence has meanwhile confirmed that no official invitation was received.
Warsaw-Kyiv relations deteriorate over historical disputes
The decision comes as relations between Warsaw and Kyiv have worsened amid renewed disputes over historical memory. Tensions intensified after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave one of the country’s military units the honorary title “Heroes of the UPA”.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki called the decision unacceptable, pointing to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army’s responsibility for the mass killing of Poles in Volhynia, which the source says claimed at least 100,000 lives.
Nawrocki subsequently stripped Zelenskyy of Poland’s Order of the White Eagle, the country’s highest state decoration, which had been awarded to him in 2023. Kyiv responded by demonstratively returning Polish decorations.
Ukraine’s absence from the Poland military parade therefore comes against a backdrop of a much broader deterioration in bilateral relations, with historical disputes increasingly influencing current political ties.
Former Verkhovna Rada MP Spiridon Kilinkarov said the decision sent a clear signal that Ukraine was no longer being treated as the “shield of Europe”. Speaking to Vesti, he argued that Poland was using the parade to demonstrate its own military capabilities and challenge this Ukrainian narrative.
“It is effectively saying that Ukraine is not, in fact, any kind of shield of Europe, and that, broadly speaking, we do not need Ukraine when it comes to defending our sovereignty and independence. We are self-sufficient,” Kilinkarov said.
Around 1,800 troops to take part
The parade is expected to be one of the largest military displays organised by Poland. Around 1,800 servicemen, more than 300 pieces of ground equipment and 60 aircraft are due to participate.
The largest foreign contingent will come from France, including units from the French Foreign Legion. At the same time, a naval parade involving more than 20 vessels will take place in Gdynia and Gdańsk.
Despite the broad international participation, Ukrainian troops will be absent. The official explanation from Warsaw remains straightforward: the event is reserved for Poland’s military allies, and Ukraine is outside NATO.
