Innovations in the defense sector are critically important for Ukraine in its military response to the Russian Federation: we must be self-sufficient in order to deter the enemy.

This was the key message of Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Chairman of the Center for Defense Strategies, Minister of Defense of Ukraine in (2019-20) , at the 17th Annual Kyiv Security Forum “UA: UNITE AGAIN TO DEFEAT THE GLOBAL AGGRESSOR”, organized by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation “Open Ukraine”.

“We can stop Russian aggression only by force. There is no indication that Putin changes his mind for any reason other than if he is made to do so by force,” Andriy Zagorodnyuk said.

According to him, to this purpose, Ukraine must be more self-sufficient. “We need to develop weaponry systems capable of stopping him,” former Minister said.

In this context, the Chairman of the Center for Defense Strategies is confident that innovation is critically important. “I think that with outdated weapons we will hardly be strong enough to deter Russia,” he concluded.

The Kyiv Security Forum, organized by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk “Open Ukraine” foundation, is the main platform in Ukraine to discuss issues of war and peace, national and global security.