This in-person event will mark one year since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine.
The war has upended the European security order, bringing new strategic clarity and unity to EU member states in their policy toward the EU’s eastern neighborhood. By granting Ukraine membership candidate status, the EU sent a political signal affirming Ukraine’s right to choose its alliances and rejecting the Kremlin’s attempts to enforce imagined spheres of influence in Europe.
The promise of EU integration represented a watershed moment and is an expression of the EU’s political support for Ukraine’s victory in the war. The hard work for both sides to fulfill this promise lies ahead.
What should the EU do to ensure Ukraine’s membership prospects remain credible? How can Ukraine’s government deliver on its complex reform agenda in wartime conditions? And what is the role of civil society in supporting progress in both of these areas?
Speakers
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Ambassador Vsevolod Chentsov
Opening Remarks
Ambassador Vsevolod Chentsov is head of the Mission of Ukraine to the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community.
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Hanna Hopko
Speaker
Hanna Hopko is a board member of the International Center for Ukrainian Victory and served as head of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada from 2014 to 2019.
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Iskra Kirova
Moderator
Iskra Kirova is a senior policy analyst with the Open Society Foundations.
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Katarina Mathernova
Speaker
Katarina Mathernova is the European Commission’s deputy director-general for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations.
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Oleksandr Sushko
Speaker
Oleksandr Sushko is executive director of the International Renaissance Foundation, in Ukraine.
Read more
Voices In Depth
Ukraine’s Everyday Resistance
In the four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainians have sparked a civic reawakening. From frontline towns to major cities, ordinary people are defending democracy, caring for one another, and laying the groundwork for a post-war future.
Rebuilding Stronger
Everyday Acts of Ukrainian Resilience
As the fighting in Ukraine intensifies, communities are demonstrating their resilience: supporting veterans, empowering people with disabilities, and creating safe spaces for survivors of violence.
Ukrainian Resiliency
Beyond the War, Ukraine Must Win the Peace and Recover
Three years ago, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But the country remains resilient, bolstered by a civil society striving to ensure that it will be Ukrainians who shape the nation’s future.