From 16 to 18 May 2025, a closed Ditchley conference was held in the United Kingdom, attended by NAKO Executive Director Olena Tregub. The event brought together leading representatives from governments, international organisations, the media and civil society in the EU, US and NATO.
The conference took place at Ditchley Park, an estate where the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill held informal consultations with allies on defence and diplomatic issues during World War II.
As Olena Tregub noted, there was no optimism about a truce at the conference; according to the participants, Russia will not voluntarily agree to a just peace. Instead, the key question was how long Russia would continue to fight and how long Ukraine could hold out.
Regarding the current position of the United States, most participants did not anticipate tough measures from President Trump, such as new sanctions against Russia or supplying Ukraine with weapons. ‘At the same time, everyone understands that no European coalition willing to support Ukraine on the battlefield will be viable without American “blessing”—especially in matters of nuclear deterrence and air defence. The US remains the only player capable of providing strategic backstopping,' said Olena Tregub.
The growing role of innovation in the war against Russia was also discussed. Despite the fact that it takes only a few weeks to go from idea to implementation in Ukraine, this is not yet a sufficient advantage. 'We need to focus on creating a technological advantage, particularly in the areas of unmanned and autonomous robotic systems, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and data management. This is the future of war — a war without tanks, captains or pilots. And it has already begun,' emphasised NAKO Executive Director.
Summing up the conference, Olena Tregub noted that Ukraine needs to increase its domestic arms production to 90%. 'Only then will Russia lose hope that it can "outlast" us and the West. It will only then have an incentive to stop,' she said.
