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Website – Seminar 1

Ukraine Strategy Seminar 2026

After Certainty - Rethinking Security, Democracy and Society

30.11.2026 - 02.12.2026

Thema

Although Ukraine has managed to slow down Russian advances significantly, Moscow is escalating its air war and terrorizing millions. Ahead of what many believe will be an extremely difficult winter, one thing remains clear: closer cooperation between Europe and Kyiv is more urgent than ever in times of growing transatlantic estrangement. What steps are necessary to provide Ukraine with effective support and achieve security together? What is Europe’s strategy towards Ukraine, and what role should the United States play in it? How can Western partners organize and sustain their assistance to Ukraine when Russia shows no sign of abandoning its maximalist war aims?

The Loccum Ukraine Strategy Seminar is an annual, gathering of up to 70 participants for two days of intensive exchange on Western policy toward Ukraine. The 2026 seminar marks the third edition and seeks to foster a deep, interdisciplinary dialogue that spans politics, policy, strategy, and the arts—all with Ukraine at the center.

This seminar follows the Chatham House Rule. It is jointly organized by the German-Ukrainian Bureau and the Protestant Academy Loccum, in partnership with the Frontier Institute, Sahaidachnyi Security Center, and Ukrainian Institute. The working language of the seminar is English. If requested, we provide German-English simultaneous translation.

Montag, 30.11.2026
13:30 Uhr
Arrival and Check-in for Bus travelers

Bus departs at 12:50 from Wunstorf train station

14:00 Uhr
Words of Welcome

Mattia NELLES, Co-Founder & Executive Director, German-Ukrainian
Bureau, Düsseldorf
Thomas MÜLLER-FÄRBER, Program Director International Affairs, Protestant Academy Loccum

14:15 Uhr
KICK-OFF SESSION | Scenarios of Futures: Ukraine and Europe 2036

Yevhen HLIBOVITSKY, Director of Frontier Institute and Supervisory board member at Suspilne (Ukrainian public service broadcast), Kyiv

16:00 Uhr
Coffee, Tea & Cookie Break

16:30 Uhr
PLENARY SESSION |The Battlefield Today and the Security Scenarios of Tomorrow

Yaryna CHORNOHUZ, Poet, Writer, Translator, and Marine, Servicemember of the 30th Marine Corps, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Kyiv
Michael KOFMAN, Senior Fellow in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Washington D.C.
Thomas RÖWEKAMP, MP (CDU), Chairman, Defence Committee of the Deutscher Bundestag, Berlin/Bremen
Melinda HARING, Senior Advisor at Razom for Ukraine and Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Eurasia Center of the Atlantic Council, Washington D.C.

18:30 Uhr
Dinner

19:30 Uhr
High-Level Conversation | Europe after Certainty: Ukraine, Leadership, and the Future of the West

Dmytro KULEBA, former Foreign Minister of Ukraine (2020-2024), Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University and Associate Professor, Institute of Political Studies, Sciences Po, Kyiv
Anu PULKKINEN, Director, Unit for Eastern Europe, Finish Foreign Ministry, Helsinki*
Rebecca HARMS, Vice Chair, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom and former Member of the European Parliament (2004-2019), Uelzen

21:00 Uhr
Informal Get Together

21:15 Uhr
NIGHT OWL SESSION

-

*invited

Dienstag, 01.12.2026
07:15 Uhr
Invitation to Morning Run

08:30 Uhr
Breakfast

09:30 Uhr
PLENARY SESSION | From Battlefield Innovation to European Security: Ukraine, Defence Technology and the Future of Deterrence

Tuuli DUNETON, Undersecretary for Defence Policy, Estonian Ministry of Defence, Tallinn*
Falko DROSSMANN, MP (Social Democrats) Spokesperson on Defense Policy for the SPD Parliamentary, Deutscher Bundestag, Hamburg/Berlin
Bohdan DANYLYIV, Head of Military Department, Serhiy Prytula Foundation, Kyiv*
Mattia NELLES, Co-Founder & Executive Director, German-Ukrainian Bureau, Düsseldorf

11:00 Uhr
Coffee & Tea Break

11:15 Uhr
PLENARY SESSION | The City that Refused to Break – Kharkiv and the Future of the Whole-of-Society Defence

Oksana HUSS, Research Centre Trustworthy Data Science and Security, University Alliance Ruhr Duisburg and 2026 Partnership for Peace Research Fellow, NATO Defence College, Duisburg
Meriam YOL, Chief Operating Officer, Volonterska Foundation, Kharkiv
Natalia ZUBAR, Chair Maidan Monitoring Information Centre, Kharkiv

12:30 Uhr
Lunch

13:20 Uhr
Sightseeing Tour to the Monastery Loccum (Meeting Point Reception)

15:00 Uhr
Coffee & Cake

15:30 Uhr
PLENARY SESSION | Ukraine as a Security Provider: Ukraine’s Role in Europe’s Emerging Security Architecture

Arne Bård DALHAUG, Lieutenant General (Ret.), Royal Norwegian Army, President of the Norwegian Defence Association, and Senior Adviser to the Norwegian Atlantic Committee, Oslo
Anders Puck NIELSEN, Military Analyst, Naval Officer, Researcher, Royal Danish Defence Academy
Lesia OGRYZKO, Head of the Reform Support Office of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, Co-founder & Director of the Sahaidachnyi Security Center

Moderation: Elena DAVLIKANOVA, Associate Senior Fellow, Sahaidachnyi Security Center

16:45 Uhr
Coffee & Tea Break

17:00 Uhr
BREAKOUT SESSION |

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Forum 1 | Ukraine’s Domestic Situation: Moods, politics & EU accession

Lead: Balázs JARÁBIK, Founder, Minority Report, Budapest

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Forum 2 | “Black-out” Simulation

Lead: Natalia ZUBAR, Citizen War Crime Investigator, Kharkiv

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Forum 3 | Military Deep-Dive

Lead: Gustav GRESSEL, Senior Lecturer and Researcher National Defence Academy, Austrian Armed Forces*

18:30 Uhr
Dinner

19:30 Uhr
LITERARY SALON | Yaryna Chornohuz: Poet. Soldier. Woman – How Do We Stay Human in War?

Yaryna CHORNOHUZ, Poet, Writer, Translator, and Marine, Servicemember of the 30th Marine Corps, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Kyiv

Moderation: Kateryna RIETZ-RAKUL, Head of Ukrainian Institute in Germany, Berlin

21:00 Uhr
Informal Get Together

-

*invited

Mittwoch, 02.12.2026
08:30 Uhr
Breakfast

09:30 Uhr
PLENARY SESSION |From Ukraine to the World: Can Democracies Still Deliver? Government, Trust, and Democratic Resilience in an Age of Authoritarianism

Victoria VOYTSITSKA, Advocacy Director, International Center for Ukrainian Victory, former Member of Parliament, Secretary at the Committee on Fuel Energy, Nuclear Policies and Security (2014-2019), Kyiv
Robin WAGENER, Member of Parliament (The Greens), Member in the Defence and in the Foreign Affair Committee and Head of the German-Ukrainian Parliamentarian Group, Deutscher Bundestag, Berlin/Bad Salzufen
Brian WHITMORE, Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council and Assistant Professor of Practice, University of Texas-Arlington

10:45 Uhr
Coffee & Tea Break

11:15 Uhr
CONCLUDING PANEL | Increasing the Odds – How to Make Positive Futures More Likely

Anna KOSTRZEWA-MISZTAL, Deputy Director, Eastern Department, Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Warsaw*
Olga RUDENKO, Chief Editor, Kyiv Independent, Kyiv
Adrian POLLMANN, Head of Department “Ukraine, Moldova, the South Caucasus, Black Sea Cooperation”, German Foreign Office, Berlin*
Yaroslav TROFIMOV, chief foreign-affairs correspondent at The Wall Street Journal, New York/Kyiv

12:20 Uhr
Wrap-Up & Words of Farwell

Inna NELLES, Co-Founder, German-Ukrainian Bureau, Düsseldorf
Thomas MÜLLER-FÄRBER, Protestant Academy Loccum

12:30 Uhr
Farewell Lunch

13:30 Uhr
Bus Shuttle to Wunstorf train station

-

*invited

Organisatorisches

Tagungsnummer

2671

Tagungsgebühren

Regulär / regular
299€
Ermäßigt / reduced
199€

Die Tagungsgebühr beinhaltet Übernachtung, Verpflegung und Kostenbeitrag.
Für Auszubildende, Studierende, Freiwilligendienstleistende sowie Arbeitslose gilt die ermäßigte Gebühr nur bei Vorlage einer gültigen Bescheinigung VOR der Tagung.
Eine Reduzierung der Tagungsgebühr für eine zeitweise Teilnahme ist nicht möglich.

The conference fee includes accommodation, meals and a contribution towards costs.
For apprentices, students, volunteers and the unemployed, the reduced fee applies only upon presentation of a valid certificate BEFORE the conference.
It is not possible to reduce the conference fee for partial attendance.

Below you can find information about TERMS OF CANCELLATION and TRAVEL INFORMATION.

Stornierung

Bei einer Absage nach dem 19.11.2026 müssen wir Ihnen 50% der Tagungsgebühr in Rechnung stellen.
Bei einer Absage nach dem 25.11.2026 müssen wir Ihnen 100% der Tagungsgebühr in Rechnung stellen.
Bei nicht erfolgter Absage müssen wir die gesamte Tagungsgebühr in Rechnung stellen.

Zahlung

Bitte bezahlen Sie die Gebühren erst nach Erhalt einer Rechnung von uns.

Anreise

Informationen über die Anreise mit dem PKW oder der Bahn finden Sie hier

Es besteht eine direkte Verbindung zur Akademie mit dem Zubringerbus ab dem Bahnhof in Wunstorf.
Zur Akademie - Abholung am Bahnhof Wunstorf, Ausgang ZOB: 30.11.2026, 12:30 Uhr
Zum Bahnhof - Ankunft am Bahnhof Wunstorf (voraussichtlich): 02.12.2026, 14:10 Uhr

Bitte setzen Sie im Anmeldeformular bei gewünschter Mitfahrt im Zubringerbus die entsprechende Auswahl, da die Plätze begrenzt sind.