Black Sea Security Forum 2025

The second edition of the Black Sea Security Forum brought together more than 650 guests in Odesa, the heart of the Black Sea region. For two days, the iconic Odesa Opera House hosted policymakers, parliamentarians, military leaders, and experts from over 40 countries. The Forum received extensive media coverage across Ukraine and internationally — and was even mentioned in Russian propaganda shows — underscoring its impact. The Forum has become a key platform shaping the international response to regional challenges and advancing concrete solutions for a secure and prosperous Black Sea.

Keynote speaker

H.E. Mike Pompeo

70th United States Secretary of State (2018-2021), 6th Director of CIA (2017-2018)

Keynote conversation

Rt Hon Ben Wallace

Secretary of State for Defence (2019 – 2023), United Kingdom

Rt Hon Tom Tugendhat

Member of the Parliament, United Kingdom

Speakers and panellists

Dr. Hanna Shelest

Director of the Security Studies Program, Ukrainian Prism Foreign Policy Council

Vice Admiral Oleksii Neizhpapa

Commander of the Naval Forces of the Ukrainian Navy

Andrii Kashuba

Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine

Roman Kostenko

Member of the Parliament, Secretary of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, Veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian War

Melinda Haring

Senior Advisor, Razom for Ukraine

Roman Pohorilyi

Co-Founder, DeepStateUA

Vadym Denysenko

Political scientist, head of the analytical center “Business Capital”

H.E. John Herbst

Director of the Eurasian Center, Atlantic Council, 5th U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, United States

Petro Poroshenko

5th President of Ukraine, People`s Deputy of Ukraine, Leader of the European Solidarity party

Luke Coffey

Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute

Emanuelis Zingeris

Member of the Parliament, Lithuania

Remus Cernea

ournalist, deputy of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania (2012-2016)

Kira Rudik

Member of Parliament, Leader of Political Party “Golos”

Adrian Balutel

Head of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Moldova

Ştefan Ţintă

Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Policy, Chamber of Deputies of Romania

Andrew Mueller

Editor at Monocle

Rt Hon Scott Morrison

30th Prime Minister of Australia

Hugo Antonio Acha

Director of Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba

Dr. Dalibor Rohac

Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

H.E. Valerii Chalyi

Chair of the UCMC Board, diplomatic advisor to the President of Ukraine in 2014 – 2015, ambassador of Ukraine to the US in 2015 – 2019

H.E. William Taylor

Distinguished Fellow, Atlantic Council; U.S. Chargéd`Affaires to Ukraine (2019 – 2020)

Rear Admiral Michael Hewitt

Co-Founder and CEO (IP3); Former Deputy Director for Global Operations, Operations Directorate, Joint Staff of the Pentagon (1983 – 2013)

Bob McEwen

Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives (1981 – 1993)

Michael Rubin

Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

Olexandr Mishchenko

Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

Rt Hon Mark Pritchard MP

Vice President Organisation for Security & Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) PA, Vice Chairman, Turkey Caucus, UK Parliament, Former Chair of Ukraine Caucus, Former Member UK Intelligence Committee, United Kingdom

Yevgeniya Gaber

Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council Türkiye

Amanda Paul

Senior Policy Analyst and Deputy Head of the Europe in the World Programme, EPC

Dominic Nicholls

Associate Editor, The Telegraph

Francis Dearnley

Executive Editor, The Telegraph

H.E. Vadym Prystaiko

Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom (2020-2023), Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2019-2020)

Rt Hon Tony Abbott

Prime Minister of Australia (2013-2015)

Dr Robert (Bob) Seely MBE

Head of Strategy, Trypillian; Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom, (2017-2024)

Col. Richard Kemp

CBE, United Kingdom

Dr. Mykola Davydiuk

Political expert and writer

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze

Member of the Parliament, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Integration of Ukraine to the EU

Rémi Duflot

Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the EU Delegation to Ukraine

Marko Mihkelson

Member of the Parliament, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Estonia

Michał Kamiński

Deputy Marshal of the Senate, Poland

H.E. Mike Pompeo

70th United States Secretary of State (2018-2021)

George Mastrokoukos

Business Consultant, International Chess Master

Bohdan Nahaylo

Chief Editor, Kyiv Post

Vladlen Nikitin

CEO, Ukraiviakotech, Ukraine

Brooks Newmark

Founder, Trypillian

The Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP

Minister of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (2022-2024)

Mariia Mezentseva-Fedorenko

Member of the Parliament of Ukraine, Head of Ukraine's Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Alex Sobel MP

Member of the House of Commons

Jakob Torrild Hansen

Head of Mykolaiv Recovery Programme, Embassy Office of Denmark in Mykolaiv

Wilfried Jilge

Associate Fellow, Center for Order and Governance in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia, Berlin (via VTC)

Norbert Beckmann-Dierkes

Head of KAS Bulgaria

Dr. András Rácz

Senior Fellow, Center for Security and Defense, DGAP

Ruth Harris

Director of Defence and Security Research, RAND Europe

Dr. Susan Stewart

Eastern Europe, Eurasia Senior Fellow, SWP

Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC

Lead Sponsor of the Black Sea Security Forum, businessman, pollster and politician, philanthropist, United Kingdom

Markus Wiechel

Member of the Riksdag, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, Hepatica, Sweden

Caroline Kanter

Deputy Head of the Division European and International Cooperation, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung

Thomas Birringer

Head of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's representative office in Ukraine

Video Addresses

H.E. Theodoros Rousopoulos

President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Elina Svitolina

Odesa-born most successful athlete in the history of Ukrainian tennis, a former WTA world number three ranked player

Photos