Defending Strategic Autonomy: Why Ukraine Matters for Europe
5. februar 2026 17.00 - 18.30
Russia’s war against Ukraine has turned strategic autonomy from an abstract policy ambition into an urgent practical challenge for Europe. The conflict has demonstrated how economic interdependence in energy, finance, technology and supply chains can be deliberately weaponized, exposing structural vulnerabilities that limit Europe’s capacity to act decisively in its own security environment.
Ukraine has been at the frontline of this form of economic and geopolitical pressure. Its experience offers unique insights into how sanctions, economic resilience, state capacity and private-sector behaviour interact under conditions of war. At the same time, the war has forced Europe to reassess its own dependencies and the extent to which strategic autonomy is necessary to safeguard security, economic stability and political agency in an increasingly contested global order.
This event features keynote interventions by Nataliia Shapoval, President of the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), and Elina Ribakova, Director of the International Affairs Program and Vice President for Foreign Policy at the Kyiv School of Economics, examining why Ukraine is at the center of European strategic autonomy.
Nataliia Shapoval is the President of the KSE Institute, one of the largest think tanks in Ukraine, and the Vice President for Policy Research at the Kyiv School of Economics. She is a member of the International Expert Group on Russian Sanctions and a Member of the Economic Policy Advisory Council to the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.
She is furthermore an advisor to the Prime Minister of Ukraine.
In 2024, she became a Visiting Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Since February 2022, the KSE Institute has initiated projects including the assessment of damages resulting from Russian aggression, and the monitoring and analysis of foreign companies' operations in the Russian market.
Elina Ribakova is Director of the International Affairs Program and Vice President for Foreign Policy at the Kyiv School of Economics. She is a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a nonresident fellow at Bruegel. Her research focuses on global markets, economic statecraft and economic sovereignty.
Ribakova has over 25 years of experience in financial markets and economic research, including senior roles at the International Monetary Fund, the Institute of International Finance and Deutsche Bank. She is a frequent commentator in international media and a regular contributor to leading global newspapers.
Ukraine has been at the frontline of this form of economic and geopolitical pressure. Its experience offers unique insights into how sanctions, economic resilience, state capacity and private-sector behaviour interact under conditions of war. At the same time, the war has forced Europe to reassess its own dependencies and the extent to which strategic autonomy is necessary to safeguard security, economic stability and political agency in an increasingly contested global order.
This event features keynote interventions by Nataliia Shapoval, President of the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), and Elina Ribakova, Director of the International Affairs Program and Vice President for Foreign Policy at the Kyiv School of Economics, examining why Ukraine is at the center of European strategic autonomy.
Nataliia Shapoval is the President of the KSE Institute, one of the largest think tanks in Ukraine, and the Vice President for Policy Research at the Kyiv School of Economics. She is a member of the International Expert Group on Russian Sanctions and a Member of the Economic Policy Advisory Council to the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.
She is furthermore an advisor to the Prime Minister of Ukraine.
In 2024, she became a Visiting Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Since February 2022, the KSE Institute has initiated projects including the assessment of damages resulting from Russian aggression, and the monitoring and analysis of foreign companies' operations in the Russian market.
Elina Ribakova is Director of the International Affairs Program and Vice President for Foreign Policy at the Kyiv School of Economics. She is a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a nonresident fellow at Bruegel. Her research focuses on global markets, economic statecraft and economic sovereignty.
Ribakova has over 25 years of experience in financial markets and economic research, including senior roles at the International Monetary Fund, the Institute of International Finance and Deutsche Bank. She is a frequent commentator in international media and a regular contributor to leading global newspapers.
Arrangør:
The Danish Foreign Policy Society
Tidspunkt
5. februar 2026
17.00 - 18.30