How effectively does the Ukrainian government use capabilities of non-military cooperation with NATO? What new platforms does the Alliance offer us for that? How to build the Ukraine-NATO operational platform to study hybrid warfare and what valuable experience can Ukraine share in this context? How to protect cyber space from new threats and how can the Alliance help Ukraine with this? And finally, why is the path of our country towards Euro-Atlantic integration so long? Is it because the main engine of this process, especially in the post-Maidan years, is civil society?
These issues – separately and in combination – were discussed by the participants of the international roundtable "Ukraine-NATO: non-military cooperation as response to common proxy threats" on February, 9, in Kiev. The event was organized by the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Office in Ukraine in cooperation with the NATO Liaison Office in Ukraine and the Centre for Global Studies Strategy XXI".
During the event the results of the UCIPR expert survey were presented (Ukraine – NATO: Non-Military Cooperation and Response to Common Proxy Threats); based on these results the current state of Ukraine's cooperation with NATO in non-military areas was assessed. The study includes an assessment of the role of the parliamentary dimension of Ukraine-NATO cooperation; activities of state authorities in the development of non-military cooperation; cooperation with the NATO Centres of Excellence; level of public awareness; and other aspects of cooperation. During the discussion the ways of expanding non-military areas of Ukraine–NATO cooperation, of Euro-Atlantic integration, and of joint counteractions to hybrid threats were also discussed. The participants of the event agreed that cooperation with NATO in non-military areas creates additional opportunities for working out and employment of individual and joint mechanisms to counter modern hybrid challenges and threats.
Based on the results of the international round table, the organizers prepared concrete proposals and recommendations which will be forwarded to the leadership of Ukraine and NATO, of security and defense sector of Ukraine, and will be also disseminated among Ukrainian companies.
