INTERNATIONAL FORUM IN BERLIN IN SUPPORT OF UKRAINE
On February 23, 2026, a large-scale international, political and public forum Café Kyiv was held in Berlin on the eve of the fourth anniversary of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This year’s forum was held under the slogan “Freedom Must Win”. For the fourth year in a row, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) and numerous international partners have been holding such an event in Berlin in support of Ukraine, cultural, scientific, educational, and public projects aimed at helping our country and discovering the truth about European Ukraine. This year, about 5 thousand guests took part in the forum, who became participants in numerous panels of the forum. Cafe Kyiv has thus become the most important event for Ukraine in Europe and is almost unlike any other format for exchanging views and political solidarity.
Opening of the forum, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaking
Participants of the “Tracks of Memory” panel
At the beginning, the President of the KAS Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and the Federal Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz emphasized that the future of Europe and the future of Ukraine are inextricably linked. Ukraine is defending not only its own freedom, but also the fundamental principles of the European order. “russia is not showing any readiness for peace,” the Federal Chancellor said. “This war will only end when russia can no longer finance it. That is why we must give Ukraine the opportunity to achieve a lasting and just peace.” “Russia is now waging war with even greater cruelty than four years ago,” Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer summed up at the beginning. “If Ukraine wins, Europe wins and freedom wins!”
During Anatoly Podolsky’s speech at the forum
In the work of the panel “Tracks of Memory: Ukraine and the Weimar Triangle. Best Practices in the Culture of Memory and Partnership of Cities”, organized by the Jewish Community of Düsseldorf with the support of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was attended by Anatolii Podolskyi, a leading researcher in the Department of Ethnopolitical Science of our Institute, Candidate of Historical Sciences. In his speech, the representative of Ukraine at the forum presented the national experience in the field of studying and teaching the history of the Holocaust and combating anti-Semitism, and also refuted the manipulative Kremlin narratives aimed at justifying aggression against Ukraine.
Matthias Richter, Olena Likhovodova, Anatolii Podolskyi