Ukraine's Victory in Russia's War: The Role of the United Kingdom

How can the UK help Ukraine defeat Russia, restoring full control over its internationally recognised borders, securing justice and accountability for Russian war crimes, and enabling a swift and full recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine? 

The UK has played an important role so far providing Ukraine with military support and imposing sanctions on the Russian economy, its officials and its kleptocratic elites. But much more can be done. This event will examine what the UK’s role should be going forward to ensure Ukraine emerges fully victorious following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. 

UCL SSEES and the Ukrainian Institute London will host the director of PEN Ukraine and leaders of the International Centre for Ukrainian Victory, which aims to mobilise decision-makers, societies, and expert communities to help achieve Ukrainian victory as soon as possible while preventing as many human losses as possible. 

SPEAKERS

Dr Hanna Hopko is an expert in advocacy, international relations, on Russian expansionism and hybrid warfare. She chaired the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Ukrainian Parliament from 2014-2019. Dr Hopko was one of the civic leaders of the EuroMaidan during Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity. She was elected to Parliament from the pro-European Self-Reliance Party in 2014 and later served as an independent MP. She is ANTS (National Interests Advocacy Network) Chair of the Board and Chairwoman of Democracy in Action Initiative. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion, Hopko worked together with other Ukrainian activists to found the International Center for Ukrainian Victory (ICUV) in cooperation with the Casimir Pulaski Foundation. The ICUV advocates for Ukrainian interests internationally and supports civil society actions for Ukraine’s victory.

Olga Aivazovska is Head of the Board of the Civil Network OPORA NGO, an international expert in electoral matters and developing draft laws. Olga is co-founder of the International Center for Ukrainian Victory and Center for War Crimes Documentation (Warsaw). She was a director of national, nonpartisan observation missions in Ukraine with over 25,000 activists involved from 2010 to 2021 and participated in electoral observation in more than ten countries of Europe. Aivazovska represented Ukraine in the political subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group (Ukraine-Russia-OSCE) and she also serves as Head of the Board of the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors.

Olena Halushka is a board member of the Ukrainian NGO “Anti-Corruption Action Center” and a co-founder of the International Center for Ukrainian Victory (ICUV) in Warsaw. Earlier, she worked as a chief of international advocacy at the post-Maidan coalition of 80 CSOs “Reanimation Package of Reforms” (2015-2017) and advised the Member of Parliament of Ukraine (2012-2014). Olena has the experience of local level politics as she served as the Kyiv City Council member, deputy chair of the Council’s Commission on Housing and Energy (2014- 2015). Olena wrote op-eds for The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy and EUobserver.

Tetyana Teren is a Ukrainian journalist, cultural manager, and executive director of PEN Ukraine, one of the oldest and biggest cultural and human rights organisations in Ukraine. She is the author of 5 books of interviews with Ukrainian writers and artists. In 2017–2018, Teren was the head of the Ukrainian Book Institute. Since 2018, has been an executive director of the Ukrainian centre of PEN International (PEN Ukraine). After the beginning of Russias`s full-scale war against Ukraine, PEN Ukraine has been focused on monitoring Russian crimes against Ukrainian media and culture, supporting the Ukrainian cultural community and documenting the experience of war.

Olga Tokariuk (moderator) is an independent journalist, fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Studying of Journalism in Oxford and non-resident fellow at CEPA (Center for European Policy Analysis).