YES was founded in July 2004 in Yalta, when Victor Pinchuk invited some 30 European leaders to debate the future of Ukraine and the EU. At the conference, participants agreed to join forces and create a collective initiative to support Ukraine’s EU accession. Until 2013, the YES Annual Meetings were held in the historic Livadia Palace in Yalta, Crimea in order to transform the place where Europe was divided at the 1945 Yalta Conference into a venue for uniting a wider Europe. After the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, the YES Annual Meetings moved to Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where it is hosted at the Mystetskyi Arsenal.
Gabriel Attal
Former Prime Minister, President of Parliamentary Friendship Group France-Ukraine of National Assembly, YES Annual meeting 2025 "How to End the War?
«We have to do more, where it hurts the most. We have to be more efficient on the shadow fleet. We also need to help more Ukrainians take down the oil refining system. We need to hurt them most – with intelligence, missiles and oil»