The New Strategy Center team, represented by George Scutaru, CEO, and Ecaterina Dadiverina, Ukraine Projects Coordinator, participated on 11–12 September in the YES Conference, organized in Kyiv by the Yalta European Strategy.

Held under the title “Peace Through Strength. Now”, the conference brought together Ukrainian officials and representatives from NATO and EU member states, security and defence experts, business representatives, as well as members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The panels addressed current issues concerning the evolution of the war in Ukraine, prospects for peace negotiations, the strategy that should be adopted to convince Moscow to engage in a genuine dialogue, as well as Ukraine’s preparations for another difficult winter amid continued Russian attacks. Particular emphasis was placed on Ukraine’s energy resilience and on strengthening cooperation with external partners, including in the defence industry.

On the sidelines of the conference, George Scutaru and Ecaterina Dadiverina held meetings and discussions with a number of Ukrainian officials and experts on issues of common interest, as well as regarding the conference dedicated to supporting Ukraine and its reconstruction, organized by the New Strategy Center in partnership with the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, on 22–23 October in Bucharest.

In the margins of the event in Kyiv, George Scutaru held a series of discussions with Vitalii Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv; Taras Vysotsky, Minister of Agriculture; Oleksandr Kravchenko, Minister of Economy; Volodymyr Tsabal, former Secretary of the Budget Committee of the Verkhovna Rada; Natalia Sydoruk, Director of Government Relations, Interpipe; Olena Boichenko, Deloitte Ukraine; Andrii Tymoshenko, KPMG Ukraine; and Oleh Kulakevych, Director of the Kherson Regional Development Agency.

Ukraine’s experience in the field of civil protection was discussed during the meeting with Lieutenant General Andrii Danyk, Head of the State Emergency Service. Security issues were also addressed during discussions with Major General (ret.) Volodymyr Havrylov, former Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine, and Captain (N) (ret.) Andrii Ryzhenko, a naval expert.

As part of efforts to strengthen cooperation with organizations in Ukraine, the New Strategy Center concluded a partnership with the Institute of World Policy aimed at developing joint projects and initiatives on issues of strategic interest. The partnership was signed by George Scutaru and Viktor Shlinchak.

On the sidelines of YES, George Scutaru also held discussions with Davide La Cecilia, Italy’s Special Representative for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, and Dan Driscoll, former Secretary of the United States Army. He also met with experts including Kristi Raik, Director of the International Centre for Defence and Security, Estonia, and Tengiz Pkhaladze, Senior Fellow at the European Centre for International Political Economy, Georgia.

The New Strategy Center would like to thank H.E. Victor Micula, Ambassador of Romania to Ukraine, as well as the entire team of the Embassy of Romania in Kyiv, for their support during this fact-finding visit.