On Thursday, May 15, the first offsite meeting of the Ukrainian Security Club took place in Ternopil. The event was attended by military personnel, veterans, scientists, volunteers, representatives of local government and business, historians and experts.
The discussion was moderated by Yuriy Honcharenko , Head of the UBC, and Viktor Ustenko, Coordinator of the Ternopil branch of the UBC. The participants of the event discussed issues of interaction between civil society and the Ukrainian Defense Forces, strengthening the cohesion and resilience of Ukrainian society, as well as the concept of defense democracy, which involves an unwavering commitment to democratic values with a realistic approach to security challenges.
The event was attended by Bohdan Butkovskyi, Chairman of the Ternopil Regional Council, Ihor Hirchak, Secretary of the Ternopil City Council, Andrii Yusov, Deputy Head of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Taras Dyachun, Deputy of the Ternopil Regional Council, Vitalii Labutkin, representative of the Council of Families of the Fallen at the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, Mykola Bihus, head coach of the School of Jurassic Educators and expert on national-patriotic education, Mykola Lazarovych, historian, co-founder of the Western Ukrainian Defense
The topic of national and patriotic education of children and youth attracted special attention of the participants. According to Mykola Bihus, the most important problem in this area is the lack of control over the information space by parents and the state.
“One of the ways to solve this problem is to provide quality employment for children. Children’s and youth military-patriotic game Dzhura “which we are now actively developing in Ukraine, is a tool that works. It should be actively used and made part of the systemic state policy.”
– said Bigus.
One of the important topics of discussion was the concept of defense democracy, which was presented by the initiative group of the Civil-Military Movement, which brings together military personnel, veterans and their families, volunteers and public figures from across the country. According to Oleksiy Ivashyn, coordinator of the Civic-Military Movement, this concept envisages not only the defense of the state but also the preservation of the democratic system. “The goal of our organization is to unite Ukrainian society and increase its resilience in the face of the ongoing full-scale war,” Ivashyn said.
Andriy Yusov emphasized that the most important task for Ukrainians today is to build a democratic, but at the same time mobilized and effective state ready to confront the enemy and internal threats.
“It is very important to organize such meetings in the regions and discuss strategically important topics for Ukraine’s development among people representing various industries. It was indeed a high-quality discussion, which I am convinced will yield good results,” Yusov also emphasized.
The club also discussed the importance of supporting the families of fallen soldiers. Vitaliy Labutkin emphasized the need to provide them with as much assistance as possible from local authorities, an individual approach to each and comprehensive information support.
According to Bohdan Butkovsky, Ukrainian society must become militarized and accept war as an integral element of our existence: “War is both a challenge and an opportunity for every society. In my opinion, Ukrainians must turn this threat into an element of national consciousness and national growth. We have no other way but militarization.”
They also discussed the treatment of veterans in public transportation and government agencies. According to Mykola Lazarovych, a veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war, historian, and professor at Ternopil National Economic University, it is very important that defenders feel grateful to Ukrainians, rather than being looked at reproachfully by bus drivers because they ride for free. “Such trivial facts create a general impression. And we have to change it for the better,” Lazarovych emphasized.
During the meeting, they also discussed the challenges faced by Ukrainian defense companies today. In particular, Ruslan Savchyshyn, co-founder of the Western Ukrainian Defense Cluster, noted that government orders for six months to a year are very important for defense manufacturers: “There are some orders for three months. For a company to survive, it needs to sell products. One option is to allow regulated exports. This is exactly what Ukraine can give the world, we can call it security technologies.”
In the final part of the meeting, Oleksiy Ivashyn presented a report on the demographic situation in Ukraine and possible approaches to improving it.
During the club meeting, a number of topical issues of Ukrainian society and the state were raised, and possible ways to solve them were outlined. In the future, the organizers of the event plan to hold similar discussions in different regions of Ukraine. The meetings will result in practical solutions that will be proposed to government authorities.
The Ukrainian Security Club is a platform that brings together representatives of the Security and Defense Forces, government and local self-government, think tanks, academics, public and political figures, and entrepreneurs who coordinate their activities to ensure Ukraine’s stable development, achieve sustainable peace, overcome internal contradictions, and promote social cohesion.
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