Expert online meeting

Dignity and Freedom in Action:
Protecting the Skies of Ukraine and Europe.

November 21, 2025.

Briefly about the event

The expert discussion “Dignity and Freedom in Action: Defending Ukraine and Europe’s Skies” was dedicated to how Russia’s air and missile aggression has become an unprecedented threat to the EU’s and NATO’s energy, economic, and civilian security. The event focused on Ukraine’s role in the European defense architecture and on why protecting Ukraine’s sky is key to the security of the entire continent.

  • November 21, 2025.

Members

  • security and defense experts.
  • representatives of European institutions.
  • Ukrainian leaders working on strengthening air defense and Ukraine's integration into the European security space.

Format and context

  • Event type: expert online discussion “Dignity and Freedom in Action: Defending Ukraine and Europe’s Skies”.
  • Date and geography: November 21, 2025, Ukraine – France, online format that brought together participants from several European countries.
  • Context: Russian full-scale aggression, massive missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, violations of the airspace of the Baltic states, Poland, Romania, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Belgium.

Key conference topics

  • Ukraine as a critical element of European defense architecture and the importance of its resilient resistance for the continent's stability.
  • SkyShield Initiative: a proposal to create an integrated air defense zone over central and western Ukraine, shifting the missile and drone interception line eastward, reducing the risk of threat "spillover" into the airspace of EU and NATO member states.
  • SkyShield's alignment with principles of democratic security policy: joint actions by allies, strengthening EU strategic autonomy, consolidating collective defense, and bridging the gap in Ukrainian air defense capabilities.