Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine Andrii Kononenko took part in the GLOBSEC International Security Forum in Prague

On behalf of the Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Lytvynenko, his Deputy Andrii Kononenko took part in the GLOBSEC International Security Forum held in Prague. The main topic of this year's event was ‘Calming the Storm’, which, according to experts, threatens to destroy the institutions that are the pillars of security.

For three days, from 30 August to 1 September, participants discussed such global topics as EU and NATO enlargement, strengthening international support for Ukraine's victory, economic sustainability, etc.

Andrii Kononenko took part in several strategic sessions on the sidelines of GLOBSEC. Among them were "Armed for the Victory: Defending Ukraine", "War of Words: How to Talk about Ukraine", "Cognitive Resilience: Being Aware and Prepared: What Lessons Can Be Learned from Ukraine's Experience for Western Partners".

In particular, in his speech on cognitive resilience, Andrii Kononenko drew attention to such modern terms that are already developing into relevant military doctrines as "cognitive warfare" and "cognitive resilience".

According to him, unlike Western and US societies, Ukrainian society is guided not so much by the established concepts of collective consciousness as by individual defence mechanisms that are activated at the cognitive level and contribute to survival, resistance and self-organisation.

"In the third year of russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, our society demonstrates a remarkable level of resilience. And all this in the face of electricity shortages, daily shelling, the dominance of such emotions as fatigue and tension... Ukrainians demonstrate unbreakable courage, harden, unite to achieve their goals, believe in victory and liberation of their territories", - said the Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine and added that all this is directly related to the trust of our citizens in the Armed Forces of Ukraine as the main source of resilience.

Andrii Kononenko also suggested that the partners work together to analyse the experience of modern cognitive warfare. As not only our success in the cognitive warfare imposed on us, but also the depth of understanding of each other, which will contribute to our coexistence in the family of European nations, will depend on understanding this topic.

For reference: The international forum was attended by about 2,000 representatives from more than 70 countries, including about ten heads of state and government, 12 ministers of defence and foreign affairs from Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.