Black Sea Security Forum 2026

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Chairwoman of KAS Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer speaks at the opening of BSSF

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Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Member of the European Parliament Michael Gahler with BSSF President Oleksii Goncharenko

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Thomas Birringer, Director of the KAS Office in Ukraine, receives a gift in appreciation of the Office’s support for BSSF

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The panel “Black Sea Maritime and Regional Security as a Global Challenge”, organized by KAS

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Meeting of the KAS delegation with the fifth President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko

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Meeting of the KAS delegation with Acting Minister of Digital Transformation Oleksandr Bornyakov

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Meeting of the KAS delegation with H.E. Ambassador of Germany to Ukraine Heiko Thoms

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The panel “From Pawn to Queen: What Defines a Great Power? AI & Technologies”

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Session with Wladimir Klitschko

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Session with Simon Shuster and Roman Romaniuk. Moderated by Mykola Davydiuk

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The KAS Ukraine Office delegation at BSSF (Marina Mchedleshvili and Maria Poloz)

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BSSF took place at the Odesa Opera House

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The KAS delegation at the BSSF welcome dinner

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The KAS booth as one of the event’s main partners

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Our publications attracted great interest and were quickly picked up

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Networking is an important part of events such as BSSF

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BSSF attendees

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BSSF attendees and speakers

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Address by Thomas Birringer, Director of the KAS Office in Ukraine, at the closing of BSSF

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A symphony concert at the end of the first day of BSSF

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“This war will determine the future of Ukraine as a free nation. But it will also determine the future of Europe – as a continent united in peace, freedom and security,” 

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Chairwoman of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and former Federal Minister of Defence of Germany.

_{Video BSSF 2026: Day 1}

The Black Sea is no longer a peripheral region. It has become a key issue of European security. The only question is: will we shape the game ourselves, or will we allow others to decide our next moves?

“EndGame” became the guiding theme of the Black Sea Security Forum 2026 in Odesa – a city that embodies Ukrainian history, culture and identity.

For the third time, the BSSF served as a platform for passionate debates and discussions of key strategic questions: What geostrategic role does the Black Sea play? And why is comprehensive European security impossible without Ukraine?

_{Video BSSF 2026: Day 2}

“Ukraine is the only country capable of standing up to Russia in Europe,” said U.S. Senator Mark Kelly.

Other influential voices included Keith Kellogg, who warned against being intimidated by Russia’s nuclear blackmail, and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, who stressed that Europe and the United States must “respond as a united front.”

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KAS Session „Black Sea Maritime and Regional Security as a Global Challenge“

“For Germany, this region is of great importance. We need not only changes in our budgets, but also a strategic shift in perspective regarding the Black Sea region,” said Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer in her opening remarks at the KAS panel “Black Sea Maritime and Regional Security as a Global Challenge,” moderated by Florian Feyerabend, (Deputy Head of Department Europe/North America, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung).

The panel discussion featured Nico Lange (Founder and Director of IRIS), Marek Kohv (Head of the Security & Resilience Programme at the International Centre for Defence and Security (ICDS)), Wilfried Jilge (Ukraine and Wider Black Sea Region Expert; Associate Fellow at the Center for Order and Governance in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)), and Hanna Shelest (Director of Security Studies Programmes at the Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism”). The speakers discussed maritime security in the Black Sea and the strategic challenges facing Europe.

As Nico Lange emphasised, Europe can no longer afford to lose itself in institutional debates on NATO or EU strategies for the Black Sea region; instead, it must strengthen its own capacity to act.

At the panel experts delivered a clear message: action is needed now.

🔹 Strengthen NATO’s presence in the Black Sea region to deter Russia.
🔹 Deepen cooperation and intelligence-sharing between the Baltic and Black Sea regions.
🔹 Protect critical infrastructure and trade routes.
🔹 Support Ukraine in developing modern maritime capabilities.
🔹 Launch European initiatives on demining and maritime security.
🔹 Ensure reliable protection of export corridors.

Black Sea security is not a regional issue. It is a matter of European security and the stability of global trade.

▶️ The full recording of the discussion is available via the panel on the right.

The breadth of international support for Ukraine was also reflected in the strong presence of participants from around the world, representing think tanks, politics, government institutions, civil society and business. The KAS delegation, led by Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, also held productive meetings that could further deepen German-Ukrainian relations, including with the fifth President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, and Acting Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Oleksandr Bornyakov.