Ukraine in Europe: The Contribution of Civil Society and Diaspora to European Security
Ukraine holds the line daily, buying Europe time. The opening panel of the European Forum of the Ukrainian Diaspora in Augsburg focused on how Europe utilizes this time and the role civil society and diaspora play in it.The European Forum of the Ukrainian Diaspora (EFUD) Augsburg 2026 began on October 30 with the panel "Ukraine in Europe," organized by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and the Thomas Dehler Foundation. The umbrella organization of Ukrainian organizations in Germany (DUOD) is organizing the forum together with the European Congress of Ukrainians. The panel was moderated by Dr. Konstantin Groth. The panel included Austrian MEP Dr. Helmut Brandstätter (Renew Europe), Zenon Kowal from the Executive Committee of the Ukrainian World Congress, and, joining from Kyiv, Vassili Golod, head of the ARD studio in Kyiv.Augsburg is a fitting location for this. After 1945, thousands of Ukrainians lived here in former barracks that became camps for Displaced Persons. They did not want to return to their Soviet-occupied homeland and established their own self-administration, with schools, youth and sports associations, churches, and press. In 1945, the Ukrainian Free Academy of Sciences was founded here, and in July 1948, the Ukrainian National Council met for the first time.
Ukraine Gives Europe Time
The moderators and board members of DUOD, Kateryna Matey and Andrij Kaprocki, opened the forum with a clear message: Without a free Ukraine, there is no free Europe. The war is only a short flight away, and Ukraine gives Europe time, especially its neighbors in Central and Eastern Europe. This time must be used to strengthen Europe together with Ukraine, not in its place. Ukraine must not be a tool that is used and discarded.
On the panel, Kowal continued the thought: If Ukraine loses, its battle-hardened army could be integrated into the Russian forces. He asked whether Europe could afford that. Golod added that an end to support would mean more deaths, more occupied territory, Russia closer to EU borders, and higher costs for defense and for accommodating millions of refugees. From the audience, Eugene Czolij, former president of the Ukrainian World Congress, suggested not to speak of aid, but rather that Ukraine defends Europe's territorial integrity. Brandstätter picked up on this: Next time, we should say what Ukraine does for Europe, and that goes beyond the military aspect. As an example, he mentioned Danish investments in the Ukrainian defense industry.
A New, Diverse Diaspora
Kowal described how the diaspora has changed. The wave since 2022 includes all layers of society, but does not know the organizational tradition of post-war emigration, which predominantly came from Western Ukraine and built a dense network of associations. Those who arrive first need housing, schools, medical care, and language courses. The task of the established associations is to create platforms, to speak with one voice to the politics, and to connect Saturday schools with the Ukrainian education system in such a way that degrees are recognized and children can continue learning at home later. Kowal illustrated how much personal commitment can achieve with an anecdote: When a game of the Soviet team was broadcast on Belgian television in the 1980s, he called the sports editorial office at halftime and pointed out that there were ten Ukrainians and one Georgian on that team. In the second half, the commentator spoke differently. His motto, referencing Raymond Aron: be an engaged viewer, not stand on the sidelines.
Disinformation: Russia's Second War
Brandstätter was the reporter for his faction in the special committee on the European Democracy Shield. The experts there showed how platforms serve as a basis for Russian disinformation, how Telegram groups prepare attacks on Ukrainians and on Jewish and state institutions, and how Russia influences migration and elections. Europe needs resilience centers that can detect disinformation and new patterns of attack early. The first center of the commission is too small; centers are needed in all 27 member states, and for that, the knowledge and Russian language skills of Ukrainians are necessary.
Kowal emphasized that Russia is waging a different war against Europe than against Ukraine: it destabilizes democracies through the political fringes. Democracy must learn to defend itself, and governments have a duty to inform; otherwise, narratives from social networks will shape the image.
Golod from Kyiv named a remedy: honesty. Ukrainian media, including the public broadcaster Suspilne, reported critically on mobilization and the government and had long since left the joint television format of the telethon. He did not want to call propagandists journalists. In everyday life, he advised not to avoid discussions, to stay calm with the facts, and to forward good articles. Kowal added the long line: Russian narratives had also come to Europe through chairs for Russian language and culture. Ukrainian scholars abroad and students could correct this, for example with theses on Ukraine.
Fazit
Für den DUOD bleibt aus dem Panel ein Auftrag: Die Zeit, die die Ukraine Europa verschafft, muss genutzt werden, um Europa gemeinsam mit der Ukraine zu stärken. Zivilgesellschaft und Diaspora können dazu beitragen, durch Vernetzung, durch Aufklärung gegen Desinformation und durch offene Gespräche über den Weg der Ukraine in die EU. Das EFUD wird unter anderem von der Botschaft der Ukraine in Deutschland, dem International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), Internews Ukraine, dem Ukrainischen Weltkongress und Ukraine 2050 unterstützt.