THE NECESSITY TO WIN. The 20th Yalta European Strategy (YES) Annual Meeting took place in Kyiv

The 20th Annual Meeting of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) THE NECESSITY TO WIN was held on September 13 – 14, 2024 in Kyiv. Over 700 leading politicians, diplomats, businessmen, servicemen of the armed forces of Ukraine, veterans, civil activists, and experts from more than 30 countries took part in the conference organised by YES, in partnership with the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.

It is a crucial year for Ukraine and for the future of Europe, the West and the rest of the world. It is also the 20th Anniversary of YES activities, which have been focused on shaping Ukraine's European future since their beginning.  

The 20th YES Annual Meeting focused on discussing the following critical themes:

•       Europe’s Moment of Truth.
•       What is in the Heads of Western Leaders – What Stands in the Way of Doing All That’s Needed.
•       Ukraine’s Role for Creating a Safe World.
•       Why we Must Defeat this Enemy.
•       Win or Lose – Imagining the World After.
•       What does Ukraine's Victory Mean for Europe and Globally?
•       Ukraine’s Internal Challenges.
•       Who is Winning and Who Has More Time?
•       News from the Front.
•       Global Axis of Evil – Do We Have a Strategy?
•       Will the US Support Ukraine in One Year’s Time?
•       For Humankind’s Survival, Does Ukraine Matter?
•       Innovation to Win the War in Ukraine and Defend the West.
•       Victory Perspectives and the Future we can Create.

Victor Pinchuk, founder and member of the Board of Yalta European Strategy, businessman and philanthropist, in his opening speech at the event, remarked: "To win or not to be. This is not a question; it is a terrible, brutal dilemma for Ukraine, for Europe, for the entire civilized world. It has to be under the skin of all leaders. To win or not to be.”

President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, noted in his speech: “Regrettably, there are still illusions in the world that you can talk to Moscow or draw some red lines due to which Moscow will, with time, become milder or inclined to reconciliation. Without illusions, if we want to hear someday, 'At last there is peace, just peace in Ukraine,' then even today we should hear that 'Ukraine has become strong enough; enough, namely, to win.' This depends not only on us, to a great extent this depends on the entire world.”

Among the speakers at the 20th YES Annual Meeting were: Victor Pinchuk, founder and member of the Board of Yalta European Strategy, businessman and philanthropist; President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy;  Alar Karis, President of the Republic of Estonia; Gabriel Attal, Former Prime Minister of the French Republic; Andrii Sybiha, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine; Radosław Sikorski, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland; Gabrielius Landsbergis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania; Rustem Umerov, Minister of Defence of Ukraine; Troels Lund Poulsen, Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Denmark; Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland (2019–2023); Kajsa Ollongren, Minister of Defence of the Netherlands (2022-2024), Member, YES Board; Timothy Snyder, Richard C. Levin Professor of History and Global Affairs, Yale University; General David Petraeus, Partner and Chairman of the Global Institute, KKR; General Wesley Clark, Chairman of Wesley K. Clark & Associate; Annette Kroeber-Riel, Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy at Google in Europe; Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine - Minister of Justice of Ukraine; Andrii Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine; Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2019-2022); Mike Pompeo, 70th United States Secretary of State; Stanislav Aseyev, Serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; Serhii Zhadan, Writer, Musician, Serviceman of the National Guard of Ukraine; Oleg Sentsov, Filmmaker, Writer, Serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (video link); Yaryna Chornohuz, Author, Soldier;  Rebecca Lissner, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor to the Vice President, The White House (video link); Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine; Condoleezza Rice, 66th U.S. Secretary of State (video link); Francis Fukuyama, Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow, Stanford University; Lindsey Graham, United States Senator (video link); Moritz Schularick, President, Kiel Institute for the World Economy; Niall Ferguson, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University; Denys Shmyhal, Prime Minister of Ukraine; Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine; Andriy Pyshnyy, Governor, National Bank of Ukraine Andrii Kostin, Prosecutor General of Ukraine German Galushchenko, Minister of Energy of Ukraine; Major General Christian Freuding, Director Joint Planning and Command Staff, Ministry of Defense, Federal Republic of Germany; Oleksandr Kamyshin, Advisor to the President for Strategic Affairs;  Vadym Sukharevskyi, Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; Robert Brovdi “Madyar”, Founder and Commander of the special unit of drone aerial systems "Ptakhi Madyara"; Pavlo Palisa, Commander of 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade “Kholodniy Yar”; Ihor Obolienskyi, Commander of the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine "Charter";  Oleksandr Lytvynenko, Secretary of National Security and Defence Council; Donald Bacon, Congressman, United States House of Representatives; Jimmy Panetta, Congressman, United States House of Representatives; Salud Carbajal, Congressman, United States House of Representatives; Jim Costa, Congressman, United States House of Representatives; Rob Portman, Former United States Senator (OH), American Enterprise Institute; Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine; Yuval Harari, Historian and Professor in the Department of History, Hebrew University of Jerusalem (video link); Eric Schmidt, Co-founder of Schmidt Sciences, former CEO & chairman of Google (video link); Oleksander Budko “Teren”, War veteran, public activist; Hanna Vasyk, Junior Sergeant, Armed Forces of Ukraine; Egor Firsov, Chief sergeant of the UAV attack company, Armed Forces of Ukraine; “Tatarin”, Military, Armed Forces of Ukraine; Serhii Varakin, Commander of the drone unit of the 58th brigade, Armed Forces of Ukraine; Serhiy Chuchula, Major, the head of the training division of the 25th brigade, Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The partners of the event were: Google, Kyivstar and The International Renaissance Foundation.

More news about the 20th YES Annual Meeting may be found on our website at: yes-ukraine.org

Photos are available here and on the website  yes-ukraine.org/ua/photo-and-video  

Videos from the panel discussions and conversations are here www.youtube.com/@PinchukFoundation