How Liliia Honcharevych is building a Northern European space for Ukrainian dialogue — from Arendal and Stockholm to concrete partnerships
In August, Arendal becomes for several days a place where politics moves beyond parliaments and ministries. Politicians and journalists, business and community representatives, diplomats, academics and civil society activists come together to discuss the issues that will shape the future of Norway and, with it, Europe.
This year, Ukraine held a prominent place in that conversation.
At Arendalsuka 2026, the Ukrainian Democracy and Victory Hub served as a Ukrainian platform for discussions on defence cooperation with Northern European countries, Russia’s accountability, the resilience of Ukrainian communities, business, civil society and reconstruction. In the official Arendalsuka programme, Liliia Honcharevych is listed as the Head of Nordic Europe Hub Ukraine and Carpathian Sea Democracy Week.
For Honcharevych, Arendal is far from the first point on this map.
Over two decades of diplomatic work, she has gradually developed a different model of Ukrainian presence in Northern Europe: not waiting for Ukraine to be invited into the conversation, but being present where that conversation is formed. This means working not only with government institutions, but also with cities, businesses, universities, civil society organisations, media and people who directly shape the public agenda.
It is a long-term process. Its results are not always visible immediately after a forum ends. Yet this is precisely the kind of work that is gradually changing Ukraine’s place in the Northern European discourse.
From the Ukrainian Question to a Shared Agenda
A few years ago, discussions about Ukraine in Norway and Sweden were largely focused on foreign policy: support, diplomacy, sanctions and humanitarian assistance.
After 2022, this framework changed. But the war itself could not automatically make Ukraine part of the domestic political debate in other countries. That required a constant presence — not only at the governmental level, but also in the environments where citizens, local authorities, entrepreneurs, experts and politicians discuss their own future.
This is one of the areas addressed by Honcharevych’s work.
It involves developing a culture of dialogue, debate and open discussion both in Ukraine and through greater Ukrainian participation in Northern European public forums. Arendalsuka in Norway and Almedalsveckan in Sweden are particularly important examples. At Almedalsveckan 2026, Honcharevych was the contact person for the event “Ukraine’s Victory Alliances: Joint Actions and Commitments”, focused on joint actions and commitments to support Ukraine’s victory.
These platforms matter precisely because they are not traditional diplomatic conferences. Ukrainian issues enter the space of domestic public debate.
And the perspective gradually changes.
Ukraine is becoming not only an issue of Norwegian or Swedish foreign policy. It is entering discussions about their own security, defence industries, economies, municipalities, technologies, democracy and Europe’s responsibility.
This may be one of the most important results of such work: the question of Ukraine is no longer exclusively a Ukrainian question.
Speaking to Partners in Their Own Language
For Northern European audiences, meaningful discussion, concrete proposals and the ability to move from conversation to practical action matter more than loud statements.
That is why the Ukraine–Northern Europe cooperation platform developed by Honcharevych is not built around the traditional presentation of Ukrainian interests.
Its task is to create an environment in which Ukrainian arguments are presented in a form that is clear and relevant to Northern European partners.
This means speaking to business in the language of business, to municipalities about the concrete needs of communities, to defence industry representatives about technology and production, and to civil society about democracy, human rights and accountability.
There is an important shift in roles here. Ukraine is no longer coming only to ask for support. It is bringing experience, expertise, technological solutions, its own vision of security and an offer to work together.
Arendal: From a Conversation About War to a Conversation About European Security
This year’s Ukrainian Democracy and Victory Hub programme clearly demonstrated how much the agenda has changed.
One discussion focused on defence cooperation with Northern European countries. Representatives of the defence industry, including Kongsberg, Nammo and Kitron, as well as diplomats and experts, took part. The topics included ammunition and drone production, air and missile defence, long-range systems and the need to accelerate defence manufacturing.
For Ukraine, these issues determine its ability to withstand the war. For Norway, they are increasingly connected to its own defence readiness.
This is where Ukrainian experience becomes particularly important. Europe can analyse modern warfare, conduct exercises and develop scenarios. Ukraine, however, is experiencing this war directly on the battlefield.
Therefore, the question today is not only how much assistance Europe can provide to Ukraine. It is also about what Ukraine can already offer Europe — experience, technological solutions, an understanding of modern warfare and practical lessons for building the future European security system.
Accountability That Cannot Be Postponed
Another major part of the Hub focused on Russia’s accountability. The discussion brought together representatives of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, the Center for Civil Liberties, the Register of Damage for Ukraine, the Council of Europe and the diplomatic community.
This issue goes far beyond legal procedures.
For Ukraine, Russia’s accountability is a matter of justice. For Europe, it is also a question of what the rules of the international order will look like after the war.
If a state can launch aggression, cause enormous damage to another country, its people and infrastructure, and then avoid accountability, the consequences will extend far beyond Ukraine.
That is why the discussion about the aggressor’s accountability is part of the same broader conversation about European security taking place in Arendal.
When Diplomacy Begins with a Municipality
European politics is often perceived as something that happens in capitals. Yet many real changes begin much closer to people — in cities and communities.
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukrainian municipalities have gained experience that could not have been learned from any theoretical programme. They continued working under shelling, welcomed internally displaced people, supported the economy, rebuilt infrastructure and developed new approaches to governance under constant threat.
This experience is valuable to Norway for reasons that go beyond humanitarian cooperation.
It creates opportunities for concrete municipal partnerships — from exchanging practices and technologies to developing joint reconstruction projects.
Such connections can last for years, regardless of changes in the political landscape.
What Remains After the Forum Ends
There is another aspect of this work that rarely enters the public sphere.
Behind every discussion on stage is a significant amount of organisational work: finding partners, arranging venues and technical support, coordinating communications, shaping the programme, inviting participants and connecting people who may previously have had no connection with one another.
The infrastructure of the Ukrainian Democracy and Victory Hub is also built on partnerships.
And that is crucial.
Partnership begins before the first panel. It is reflected in everything — from the venue and technical equipment to the programme and the people who contribute their time and resources.
That is why the main result of a forum may not be the number of attendees.
Sometimes the most important things happen after the event: someone gets a phone number, someone agrees to a meeting, a company finds a partner, a Ukrainian mayor connects with a Norwegian counterpart, or a civil society organisation gains an opportunity to continue the conversation in another format.
In such a system, a contact should not be the final point, but the starting point for development.
“Inspiring World to Bring Victory Closer”
There is another element of working with Northern Europe that is difficult to measure statistically but essential for building long-term alliances: the ability to inspire people to get involved.
This is where the formula “inspiring world to bring victory closer” comes in.
It is not about making an emotional appeal for its own sake. It is about showing a person, organisation, city or company its concrete place in a shared cause.
Northern European societies are often perceived as reserved and rational. That is precisely why trust here is built not through loudness, but through consistency.
People need to see that words are backed by work, contacts lead to further cooperation, and partnerships produce results.
This is how solidarity is built — solidarity that can last longer than a single political cycle.
Ukraine Must Be Present Not Only When the Sirens Sound
Culture is also part of this diplomatic presence.
The Ukrainian programme in Arendal included a concert, an exhibition, Ukrainian embroidery, cuisine and a charity auction.
This is not merely a decorative addition to a political forum. For a country that has spent years appearing in the global information space primarily through the lens of war, it is essential to show another Ukraine — one that continues to create, work, study, develop businesses, preserve its culture and plan for the future.
A country’s international image is shaped not only through negotiations. It is also formed through ordinary human connections.
Sometimes an exhibition or concert creates a level of personal connection for Ukraine that no official statement can provide.
Northern Europe as a Network, Not a Geography
Arendal is only one part of this work.
This year, Ukrainian issues with the participation of Honcharevych were also represented at Almedalsveckan in Sweden, including a discussion on joint actions and commitments for Ukraine’s victory.
A broader, informal Northern European network of Ukrainian engagement is gradually taking shape.
Its value lies not in the number of events or even participants. What matters is that people begin to know one another, understand the context of their partners’ work and, most importantly, trust one another.
That trust makes it possible not to start from scratch after every forum.
This is especially important for Ukraine, which will have to build long-term relations with European partners not only until the end of the war, but also afterwards.
Twenty Years of Diplomacy — and a Different Understanding of Diplomacy
Honcharevych’s two decades of diplomatic experience have coincided with a period in which diplomacy itself has changed.
Today, it is not enough to hold negotiations between two official delegations and sign a document.
Influence is formed much more broadly — through society, cities, businesses, expert communities, universities, media and civil society organisations.
That is why work at platforms such as Arendalsuka and Almedalsveckan is, in many ways, diplomacy by other means.
Ukraine has an opportunity not only to communicate its interests, but also to participate in shaping the discussion about what Northern Europe — and Europe as a whole — will look like after the war.
This requires time.
It requires personal connections.
Sometimes it takes dozens of meetings before one of them turns into a real project.
But this is how sustainable partnerships are built.
A Conversation That Does Not End with the Forum
The real value of such platforms becomes clear after the final panel closes.
If only photographs remain, the event was simply an event.
If there are new contacts, agreements, joint projects, municipal connections, business negotiations, cultural initiatives and people willing to meet again, the forum becomes part of a much larger process.
This is how the Ukrainian–Northern European space that Honcharevych is working to build takes shape.
Its purpose is not simply to constantly remind Europe about Ukraine.
The goal is for Ukraine to become an organic part of the European conversation — political, social, economic, cultural and security-related.
In this context, Arendal is an important point.
Here, Ukraine speaks about the war while also speaking about what comes after it. About a defence industry that can make Europe stronger. About communities demonstrating resilience today. About accountability for aggression. About democracy. About business and technology. About culture. And, ultimately, about partnerships without which no long-term strategy can work.
That is why Ukrainian presence on Northern European platforms today means much more than participation in another international forum.
It is consistent work to ensure that Ukraine is not only heard, but consulted; that its experience is used and its interests are taken into account; that contacts between people become partnerships, and partnerships become joint action.
This is perhaps the clearest meaning of the formula “inspiring world to bring victory closer”: victory is brought closer not only by decisions made at the highest political level, but also by thousands of concrete connections, agreements and people who decide not to remain on the sidelines.
Ukraine is already part of this conversation.
Now the challenge is to make that conversation broader — and to ensure that Ukraine is not a guest, but one of those shaping, together with its partners, the next chapter of European history.