For the first time, security was one of the central themes of the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2026) in Gdańsk. Sahaidachnyi Security Center participated in four events over the course of the conference, with the Center’s Director Lesia Ogryzko speaking at each. Across the four events, the discussions highlighted how Ukraine’s wartime experience can strengthen the security of Europe as a whole.
Speaking on a panel “Towards a Resilient Ukraine” (organized by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Amicus Europae Foundation, and the London School of Economics and Political Science), Lesia Ogryzko argued that Europe should stop treating drones as a niche capability and start seeing them as the centrepiece of twenty-first century warfare.
She observed that Europe is still preparing for the wars of the past, describing the future of defence as a layered system, with air defence, autonomous systems, electronic warfare, and artificial intelligence working together and drones at its foundation.
Sahaidachnyi Security Center also joined an expert discussion “Grassroots Networks as a Force for Resilience: Volunteering, Business, the Military, and Innovation in a Comprehensive Security Model” – together with the Agency for Restoration and Development, the Dignitas Fund, the ANTS National Interests Protection Network, Defence Robotics UA, and the International Renaissance Foundation.
In her speech, Lesia Ogryzko noted that a community in which everyone treats security as someone else’s responsibility is fragile, while one in which each person feels a part in protecting others becomes far more resilient.
At the side event “Beyond Recovery”, organised by Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO), Lesia Ogryzko and Oleksii Dorohan, CEO of BRDO, presented Defence First to the international audience in Gdańsk: a coalition of 19 Ukrainian civil society organisations and think tanks working in security and defence.
They remarked that Russia’s full-scale invasion has produced a substantial civil society ecosystem — dozens of organisations that do more than comment on defence policy and instead help to shape it. Defence First brings them together as one voice.
Another panel, also joined by Lesia Ogryzko — “A Better Europe: The Architecture of Future Security” — addressed the role Ukraine plays in shaping Europe’s new security architecture. It was organized by Rasmussen Global with Centrum Stosunków Międzynarodowych.
“Today, it is clear that security is not a stage that comes after recovery — it is the foundation of recovery itself. Ukraine is already shaping Europe’s new security architecture. That is why Europe’s future must be built together with Ukraine,” said Lesia Ogryzko.
The discussion also covered three priorities:
- Europe’s strategic autonomy and Ukraine’s role in strengthening it.
- Pairing Ukraine’s battlefield experience with Europe’s technological, industrial, and financial capacity.
- EU enlargement as an investment in shared security.
At URC 2026, we were happy to share the view that has guided our work: that security belongs at the foundation of recovery, and that Europe is stronger when it builds that security together with Ukraine. We are grateful to the organisers and partners who welcomed the Center’s perspective at URC 2026.
