How should the West respond to Russia’s escalation? The Kyiv Security Forum held a special discussion

Russia has chosen to escalate its aggressive war against Ukraine. Over the past month, Moscow has sharply intensified its strikes: relentless drone attacks and large-scale shelling of Kyiv have turned into a campaign of systematic psychological terror.

The Kremlin’s objective remains unchanged: to break Ukraine’s spirit before winter comes, to destroy Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, to inflict damage on the economy and business sector, and to block Ukrainian ports.

What does this mean for Ukraine and its Western partners? How should the international community respond to this blatant escalation? This was the subject of a special discussion held by the Kyiv Security Forum.

The key focus of the discussion was the new strategic reality, in which Russia combines military escalation with a mimicry of diplomacy, testing both Ukraine’s resilience and the unity of the West.

Participants of the discussion:

Arseniy YATSENYUK, Chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum, Prime Minister of Ukraine (2014–2016);

Danylo LUBKIVSKY, Member of the Security Council of the Kyiv Security Forum, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine (2014);

Brice ROQUEFEUIL, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Ukraine;

Sir Neil CROMPTON, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom to Ukraine.

Key issues included:

the assessment of the current situation in Ukraine and the West;

the international community’s response to Russia’s blatant escalation;

Ukraine’s ability to remain resilient in the face of a difficult winter and the West’s role in strengthening its resilience.

The KSF’s special discussions are part of the ‘Kyiv Security Forum: Deep Strike’ project. This is a series of expert discussions on current events and key trends in Ukraine’s security, economy and foreign policy. The project aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the most important challenges shaping the country’s future.

The Kyiv Security Forum (KSF), founded by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk ‘Open Ukraine’ Foundation, is Ukraine’s leading international discussion platform on issues of war and peace. Prominent international leaders, politicians, diplomats, experts, activists and journalists take part in KSF events. The platform operates on several levels simultaneously: keeping Ukraine at the centre of the global agenda; expanding our country’s circle of international partners; and building expertise on pressing security issues.