“HOW TO END THE WAR?”. The 21st Yalta European Strategy (YES) Annual Meeting Took Place in Kyiv

12 September 2025, Kyiv, Ukraine – The 21st Annual Meeting of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) “HOW TO END THE WAR?” was held on 12-13 September in Kyiv. Over 800 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.

The 21st YES Annual Meeting focused on discussing the following topics:

• Where Are We With Ending the War?
• How to Finally Put Maximum Pressure on Russia?
• When Is Europe Ready for a Russian Attack?
• An agreement or ceasefire – how could specifics look?
• Is it possible to force enemy to the negotiations table? How?
• When can Ukraine count on EU membership?
• Will Western Voters Refuse to Take a Risk for Ukraine?
• Is the Lesson from Ukraine that All Countries Need Nukes?
• The State of the War and What We Need to End It
• Reforms And Fight Against Corruption
• Security Guarantees for Ukraine
• Is Russia Winning or Collapsing?
• Drones and the Future of Warfare in Ukraine
• What Will Historians Consider a Ukrainian Victory?

Opening the event, Victor Pinchuk, founder and member of the YES Board, businessman and philanthropist, said: “In my opinion, we must end the war on a just basis. This will allow us to go to the end of our historical way and win in history. To win in history means to preserve our sovereignty, independence, security and join Europe. When I say join Europe, I mean: join the European Union.”

He also urged: “Give Ukrainians a superfast track to European Union membership. Of course, under the strongest ever conditions of domestic reforms.” 

Victor Pinchuk also expressed confidence that Ukraine’s territories currently occupied by Russia would eventually get back under Ukraine’s control. “I'm absolutely convinced that all Ukrainian territories that Ukrainians would like to have under their control would be back under Ukraine’s control sooner or later.”

He suggested that Russia is facing a dilemma right now - whether to continue the war or end it. “Russian economy is in a terrible state. Russia is more and more dependent on China, and has an incredibly high cost of war and huge human losses. This is why only truly strong sanctions against Russia and truly strong military support for Ukraine can help our enemy make the right decision in this dilemma - to end the war and stop the killing.”

Victor Pinchuk also expressed gratitude to US President Donald Trump for US military aid to Ukraine and urged him to pressure Russia into meaningful peace negotiations: “I think that only President Trump can make our enemy agree to serious negotiations.”

Victor Pinchuk also addressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was an honorary speaker at the event, saying: “Mr. President, for us Ukrainians, it is fundamentally important to see that you are the successor of the historical mission of Khmelnytsky, Mazepa, and Hrushevsky, who fought for Ukrainian independence and identity… Moreover, Mr. President, you have a unique chance not only to be their successor, but also to fulfil their mission—if our generation and our children's generations will finish our historical mission. If sovereign, independent Ukraine will join the European Union and have real security guarantees.”

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his speech urged world leaders to put more pressure on Vladimir Putin to make him end the war against Ukraine: “Some may think that territory swaps or attempts to entice Putin with the resumption of trade with the USA or the rest of the world could stop this war. This is not the case. The Russian war machine will only stop when it runs out of fuel”.

“A really strong pressure is needed so that instead of pursuing a goal to occupy Ukraine or any other country, Putin would pursue a goal to preserve his economy and his system,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy added.

“Giving Putin any piece of Ukrainian land so that he stops the war is out of question. And this is not a solution, it is a pause instead. Just like it was after 2008 in Georgia, just like it was after 2014 in Crimea and Donetsk. We need to end this war once and for all, we need guaranteed security for ourselves, for Ukraine, for Ukrainian children. We need Russia to be held accountable for what it did to Ukraine, to Ukrainians, to our people,“ he concluded.

Among the speakers at the 21st YES Annual Meeting were: Victor Pinchuk, founder and member of the YES Board; Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine; Alexander Stubb, President of the Republic of Finland; Andriy Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine; Keith Kellogg, US President’s Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine; Radoslaw Sikorski, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland; Taras Kachka, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine; Andrii Sybiha, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine; Denys Shmyhal, Minister of Defence of Ukraine; Hanno Pevkur, Minister of Defence of the Republic of Estonia; Maj-Gen Christian Freuding, German Federal Ministry of Defense; Katarína Mathernová, EU Ambassador to Ukraine; Evin Incir, Member of the European Parliament; Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister (2019-2022); Gabrielius Landsbergis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania (2020-2024); Gabriel Attal, Prime Minister of France (2024), Head of Parliamentary Friendship Group France-Ukraine of National Assembly; Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom; Jonathan Powell, National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Fabrizio Saggio, National Security Adviser and Diplomatic Counselor of the Italian Prime Minister; Xavier Chatel, Diplomatic Advisor for Strategic Affairs and Disarmament to the President of France; Günter Sautter, Foreign Policy and Security Advisor to the German Chancellor; Kaupo Rosin, Director General, Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service; Moritz Schularick, President, Kiel Institute for the World Economy; Anne Applebaum, Historian, Journalist and Commentator, The Atlantic; Wolfgang Ischinger, President of the Foundation Council of the Munich Security Conference Foundation, Member, YES Board; General David Petraeus, KKR Partner, Chairman of the Global Institute and Chairman of KKR Middle East; Happymon Jacob, Editor, India’s World magazine; Gillian Tett, FT Columnist and Provost of Kings College Cambridge; Kajsa Ollongren, EU Special Representative for Human Rights, Member, YES Board; Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland (2019-2023); Svitlana Kovalchuk, Executive Director at Yalta European Strategy; Benjamin Haddad, French Minister Delegate for European Affairs; Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister (2019-2024) and Minister of Finance of Canada (2020-2024); Carl Bildt, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden (2006-2014); Prime Minister of Sweden (1991-1994), Member, YES Board; Niall Ferguson, Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University; Trey Yingst, Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent at Fox News; Borys Gudziak, Metropolitan Archbishop of Philadelphia of the Ukrainian Catholic Church; Yulian Pylypei, Marine, Armed Forces of Ukraine, PoW; Valerii Horishnii, Сhief sergeant, Azov Corps, National Guard of Ukraine, PoW; Tetyana Teplyuk, Combat medic of the Azov Corps, National Guard of Ukraine, PoW; Volodymyr Mykolaienko; former mayor of Kherson, former political prisoner and PoW, and other distinguished guests. 

Photos from the YES Annual Meeting 2025 are available here 

Videos are available at our YouTube channel 

Partners of the YES Annual Meeting 2025: Alphabet Inc., The International Renaissance Foundation and Kyivstar.