Yalta European Strategy (YES)

On February 24, the Victor Pinchuk Foundation and Yalta European Strategy held the YES Special Gathering on occasion of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The event brought together leading political figures, government officials, military commanders, experts, and parliamentarians from Ukraine, the UK, Europe, and the USA for a frank and strategic discussion on the state of the war in Ukraine, prospects for its conclusion, and Ukraine’s place in Europe’s future security architecture.

Denys Nokhrin, Commander of the 21st Separate Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, added: “Four years of the full-scale invasion have proven that Ukraine is strong – Ukraine is a technological country. Even in years when we did not have sufficient ammunition and weapons, Ukraine managed to regroup and to rapidly and powerfully develop its unmanned capabilities, inflicting significant losses on the enemy. You can see that the war has completely transformed, changed its course and direction – and believe me, it will continue to change. Because it is in times of war that technologies develop most intensively.” YES Special Gathering on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine

Denys Nokhrin, Commander of the 21st Separate Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, during YES Special Gathering on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine

Daria Borysenko, Commander of the Strike UAV Crew, ‘Typhoon’ Special-Purpose Unmanned Systems Detachment, 22nd Separate Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, commented: “You have technologies that we do not have. You have time to develop them – and we no longer do. Only together can we contain and repel the enemy, and bring the war onto its own territory. Because only when it hurts them – not here, not on our land… because those who die here are just numbers to them. They do not value human life the way we do. Only when it hurts them at home will they understand what this is and start to stop. Let's do this together." YES Special Gathering on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine

Yuriy Filatov, Head of Unmanned systems of the 3rd Army Corps, Armed Forces of Ukraine, during YES Special Gathering on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Participants of the discussion included: Yuriy Filatov, Head of Unmanned systems of the 3rd Army Corps, Armed Forces of Ukraine; Oleksandr Falshtynskyi, Chief of the Medical Service, 7th Rapid Response Corps of the Air Assault Forces of Ukraine, Armed Forces of Ukraine; Daria Borysenko, Commander of the Strike UAV Crew, ‘Typhoon’ Special-Purpose Unmanned Systems Detachment, 22nd Separate Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine; Denys Nokhrin, Commander of the 21st Separate Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine. Moderator Chrystia Freeland @cafreeland, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (2019–2024), Advisor to the President of Ukraine on Economic Development, asked Ukraine’s defenders to share their thoughts on what is needed to ensure Ukraine’s victory.

The discussion ‘Can Ukraine Count Only on Itself?’ during the YES special gathering on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, brought together Ukrainian military commanders who discussed Ukraine’s ability to sustain its defence independently, the development of unmanned systems, and resilience on the battlefield.

“We have to look seriously at what the security guarantees are so they work. We remember very well the Budapest Memorandum which was signed by all powerful nations in the world, and it didn’t work. It is important to ask what guarantees we can have to support Ukraine, the people, the army. Our goal must be peace. We have a lot of question marks, and we will see how this unfolds over the weeks and months.” YES Special Gathering on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“I remember when President Trump said he would solve the problem in one day, one week, one month etc. We are now one year in and hopefully we are close to having the first breakthrough in this war which is a cease fire. A ceasefire is not peace, but it is the beginning. It brings hope.” YES Special Gathering on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Aleksander Kwaśniewski, President of the Republic of Poland (1995-2005): “The full-scale invasion has been going on for four years, yet the conflict will remain for generations due to Putin’s concept of Great Russia, which cannot exist without the entirety of Ukraine.”

Aleksander Kwaśniewski, President of the Republic of Poland (1995-2005); Chairman of the YES Board:, “Don’t compare this EU enlargement to Poland’s accession in 2004. It is a different time in history. We have Putin, Russia, aggression, the war, etc. etc. In 2003 I met the Pope in the Vatican, what he said was crucial, “Poland needs Europe. Europe needs Poland.” Today I repeat it. “Ukraine needs Europe, and we, Europe, we need Ukraine.” That’s the point.” YES Special gathering on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Joachim Kaschke, Chief of Central Management Staff and Head of Special Staff on Ukraine, German Federal Ministry of Defence, during the discussion on innovations in defense raised the issue of the lack of industrial capacities in Europe for proper support of Ukraine: “Right now the real problem is not money and willingness. The real problem is industrial capacities. We need to bring up those capacities to have enduring possibilities of supporting Ukraine.”  YES Special Gathering on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Sven Kruck, Co-CEO, Quantum Systems: “You always need a perfect symbiosis out of hardware, software and AI. There's still a path forward in 2026 to establish these elements and systems in a physical manner to get the data and AI done.” YES Special Gathering on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Carl Bildt @carlbildt, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden (2006-2014); Prime Minister of Sweden (1991-1994); Co-Chair of ECFR; Member, YES Board, praised Ukraine’s success in defence innovation during the YES Special gathering on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“In the air, more than 90% of Russian targets are now being engaged by drones. On the ground, last month alone we carried out 70,000 unmanned ground vehicle missions - logistics, medevac, combat engineering, mining and demining. In my view, unmanned ground vehicles are the next big thing - just as sea drones have already transformed maritime warfare,” added Oleksandr Kamyshin @AKamyshin, Advisor for Strategic Issues, JSC ‘Ukrainian Defense Industry’, during the YES Special Gathering on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Sanna Marin @MarinSanna, Prime Minister of Finland (2019-2023), expressed hope that Ukraine would become a NATO member in the future at the discussion ‘Innovation & Pragmatism UA Style - Vital for Europe’ during the YES Special gathering on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Sven Kruck, Co-CEO, Quantum Systems, shared his expertise on the development of defence technology in Germany: “In Germany, we are currently spending 1–2 billion euros, and this amount is increasing, particularly on unmanned systems. In the last eight months, I would say we have spent 400–500 billion euros on other systems, like tanks and other legacy equipment.” YES Special Gathering on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Oleksandr Kamyshin @AKamyshin, Advisor for Strategic Issues, JSC ‘Ukrainian Defense Industry, shared insight on Ukraine’s defence industry transformation: “In 2022, we produced only 2,000 drones for the entire country. Today, one company produces 5,000 drones per day, and around 1,000 companies operate in Ukraine’s defense industry. It took us some time to get to this point.” YES Special Gathering on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Sanna Marin @MarinSanna, Prime Minister of Finland (2019-2023): “If we just look at the latest news today - a NATO drill in Estonia - and consider the damage that a few Ukrainian drones can inflict on NATO battalions, the devastation is huge. Equally significant is the gap between NATO’s capabilities and Ukraine’s capabilities.” YES Special Gathering on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Sanna Marin @MarinSanna, Prime Minister of Finland (2019-2023), Member of the YES Board, shared her view on the role of NATO amid a looming Russian threat: “We need to explain to people why it is extremely important for every single European country, a NATO member state, to invest in their defense capabilities. And we must understand the Russian mindset - this is not only about Ukraine, but about rebuilding a larger Russian empire. The threat does not stop at one border, it concerns all of us.”