From December 9 to 13, Prague hosted the Atlantic Council’s 2024 Central Europe Week, an annual conference held in various European cities under the auspices of the Atlantic Council, a leading think tank focused on transatlantic relations and global security.

The event included several panel discussions, one of which, held on December 12 and titled "Ukrainian Security, European Stability," focused on the importance of international support for Ukraine. Among the speakers was Mykola Bielieskov, an analyst at Ukraine's Center for Defense Strategies, whose expertise lies in Ukraine’s strategic defense and security environment.

The panel opened with remarks by General Karel Řehka, Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Army, and included contributions from Jan Brzezinski, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, and Tomáš Kopečný, the Czech Government Commissioner for the Reconstruction of Ukraine. Shelby Magid, Deputy Director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, moderated the discussion.

Bielieskov emphasized the critical role Ukraine plays in maintaining European stability and the necessity of sustained international support

“We’ve earned our partners 33 months of additional time. That’s a huge amount of time for making proper decisions. And Ukraine, as the biggest donor of security right now, deserves a chance to survive as a nation.”

He also outlined Ukraine’s military strategy and the broader dynamics of the conflict with Russia

“If we talk about the military strategy of Ukraine, we are forced to adopt an action plan that we've seen in the first months of the big war, when we basically trade space for Russian losses. As for the enemy, Russia is banking on its holistic theory of victory, which is not just about the military defeat of Ukraine. They want to combine minor advances to undermine two very important consensuses: one, outside Ukraine — that Ukraine should be aided; and two, inside Ukraine — that society remains cohesive.”

“If we preserve internal cohesion and at least the current level of international support, Russia will not be able to achieve its goals.”

Central Europe Week, organized by the Atlantic Council, aims to strengthen transatlantic ties by fostering dynamic partnerships between the United States and Central Europe. The conference serves as a platform for developing joint solutions to urgent challenges in Europe and beyond.