The Lviv Security Forum, one of Ukraine’s key foreign policy and security platforms, will discuss the controversial issue of disengagement of troops and manpower in the war zone of Donbas at its third annual meeting, taking place from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 at Lviv’s Ukrainian Catholic University.
The upcoming forum, traditionally presented in partnership with the Kyiv Post, is now focused on the most recent developments in the Kremlin’s military-political expansion in Ukraine and beyond, and is titled “Russia in Europe: old mistakes and new challenges.”
The forum will try to find answers to the following uneasy questions: For whom will the withdrawal of Ukrainian Armed Forces deeper into the Ukrainian territory be helpful and for whom will it be dangerous? What should a Ukrainian security strategy look like?
According to the forum’s organizers, the latest news from the front line of Donbas makes the issue of Russia’s global intrusion even more burning.
“Russia is a real threat not only for Ukraine,” said Oksana Syroid, the leader of the Samopomich party.
“In fact, this country has turned international security into a full-fledged risk zone that is common for all. And this is a very serious challenge for many of the world’s countries.”
This year, the forum will welcome nearly 200 experts and high profile officials from more than 10 nations, including the United States, Great Britain, Latvia, Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Finland, Spain and Germany.
As usual, the forum will be moderated by Ben Hodges, former commanding general of the U.S. Army in Europe, and also Oksana Syroid.
“The experts will be contemplating the ways of defending critical infrastructure – the media and cyberspace, key civilian infrastructure, the economy and the political system from Russian aggression against Ukraine and the West,” the organizers said.
“The discussion will also be focusing on the Steinmeier Formula, the special status for Donbas, Ukraine as ground zero of the Trump whistleblower scandal and on Russian challenges for the Baltic and the Black Sea region.”
