Through effective military operations and the development of its own capabilities, Ukraine is dismantling the narratives imposed by the aggressor. This was stated by Katarina Maternová, the European Union’s Ambassador to Ukraine, during a special discussion of the Kyiv Security Forum entitled ‘Ukraine’s Recovery: Talk or Action?’, dedicated to the outcomes of URC 2026.

“We are now, for the first time, witnessing a moment when the collective West and Ukraine are gaining the upper hand in the cognitive war with Russia. The Russians have been using the narrative of their victory and its inevitability, and this has been very difficult to counter. But Ukrainian ingenuity, the development of its own capabilities, the use of drones in combat operations and their production have convinced the whole world that Russia is not winning,” she noted.

The diplomat added: “The narrative that Russia was supposedly bound to win has been shattered. This should not be underestimated, as psychology plays a very significant role.”

Katarina Maternová also emphasised that, following the recent EU elections, a more favourable situation has emerged for the Ukrainian government. “At present, we have a truly unique convergence of favourable circumstances, reflected in the achievement of consensus, as everything we do for Ukraine is based on consensus,” she added.

Speaking about Ukrainian-Polish relations, the diplomat expressed her hope that “common sense will prevail”. “The EU is a union of 27 states. And we can only move at the pace set by the least decisive of these 27 states. Any bilateral issues with any member state have the potential to stall the entire process. I very, very much hope that common sense will prevail. I very much hope that in our relations with Poland we are at a stage of de-escalation, not escalation. Because history is a very complex issue. There are times when historical claims can be resolved. But there are even more complex issues, and I believe it would be difficult to resolve them at present,” Katarina Maternová concluded.

The discussion also brought together the Chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2014–2016; a member of the Kyiv Security Forum’s Security Council, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2014) Danylo Lubkivsky; Anka Feldhusen, Ukraine’s Business Ombudsman and Germany’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Ukraine (2019–2023); and Nataliia Shapoval, Head of the KSE Institute and Vice-President for Political Research at the Kyiv School of Economics. The discussion took place as part of the new project ‘Kyiv Security Forum: Deep Strike’ – a series of expert discussions on pressing issues and key trends in the fields of security, the economy and Ukraine’s foreign policy. The project aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the most significant challenges shaping the country’s future.

The Kyiv Security Forum (KSF) is an annual international event launched in 2007 on the initiative of the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation.