Victor Pinchuk Foundation hosted a Special Address with Steve Witkoff during the YES Special Gathering on February 24, 2026

On 24 February 2026, the Victor Pinchuk Foundation and Yalta European Strategy (YES) held a Special Address with Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy for President Trump during the YES gathering on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Victor Pinchuk, businessman and philanthropist, Founder of YES, introduced a special address titled: “Ukrainian Peace Mediation” with Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy for President Trump and Aleksander Kwaśniewski, President of Poland (1995–2005), Chairman of the YES Board.

Victor Pinchuk welcomed the guests: “The United States under the leadership of President Trump is a vital partner for us. We can achieve an end to this war and secure peace with such a great and important partner.”

Alexander Krasniewski asked Steve Witkoff how a just peace can be achieved for Ukraine after four years of aggression and where the negotiations stand today.

Steve Witkoff replied: “I'm an admirer of the people of Ukraine. They're incredibly courageous. I've developed some really long-lasting and profound friendships with people who I have met from your country.”

“I trace the beginning of progress to the first Geneva meeting we had. We set forth a framework to solve all the possible issues and leave the issue of territory to the side for the time being. The most important of all those issues was security protocols from the United States and Europe because there is no deal unless the people of Ukraine can believe that they will be able to live in peace,” he went on to say.

“The second important agreement that we discussed was something that we now call the Prosperity Agreement. We believe it is important to show Ukrainians the potential for industry and economy once we had achieved a peace deal.

“Now, where are we today? I think we had some very productive meetings. We accomplished quite a bit, cut through a lot of what I'll call miscommunication between the two sides. We see ourselves as a mediator, not as a protagonist in this conflict.

“We've listened carefully to the leadership of Ukraine. I believe that we've opened up communication channels between the Russia and Ukraine. We have accomplished a lot in our trilateral meetings and the engagement between meetings is happening.

“We have made more progress in the last eight or nine weeks than we've made in the last four years. And so, I'm going to take that as a positive and hope that we can continue and build on that success,” he added.

Alexander Krasniewski asked: “If we get this peace deal, can we ever trust President Putin? Can we trust even successors of Mr. Putin? Will they resect Ukraine’s sovereignty?

Steve Witkoff responded: “We are not going to get a deal done unless we establish a positive relationship with both sides. I do believe that we're making progress and I am hopeful that this war will be settled. We're going to try as best as we can to bring the sides together so that they can get to a place of resolution.

“Our policy is that there can't be a peace deal unless the Ukrainian people feel strongly this will never happen again. We're going to do everything we can to help you to get to the right solution, the right peaceful solution, so that everybody in your country can live in peace one day. This is the predicate for the security guarantees,” Witkoff concluded.

The YES Special Gathering on February 24 is a platform for an honest conversation about the price of freedom, the limits of endurance, and shared responsibility for the future of Europe. Four years on from the full-scale invasion, Ukraine remains on the front lines not only of its independence, but also of the security of the entire democratic world.

Photos are available here 

Video will be on YouTube  www.youtube.com/user/PinchukFoundation