On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine. Russia’s war has brought enormous human suffering, large-scale destruction of places and infrastructure, and massive environmental damage to Ukraine. Several million Ukrainians have had to flee their country, and many of them seek shelter in the Nordic and Baltic states, with uncertain prospects. Although the war is still ongoing, rebuilding of liberated territories and destroyed houses and infrastructure all over Ukraine has commenced. The estimated costs of reconstruction are higher than 2.6 times Ukraine’s entire 2022 GDP. Russia’s warfare has made Ukraine the most mined country in the world, with severe consequences for people’s health, economic activity and the environment. The Nordic and Baltic countries may help Ukraine to emerge stronger from the reconstruction process.

On 30 November 2023, the Nordic-Baltic knowledge-based input network to the rebuilding of Ukraine, HROMADA, organized a half-day conference in Oslo on how research may contribute to the strengthening and sustainable development of Ukraine. The aim was to kick off a dialogue with decision-makers and business representatives on how the expertise of researchers may contribute to the rebuilding efforts of public and private actors from the Nordic and Baltic states. For this purposed HROMADA invited politicians and decision makers, researchers and experts from Nordic and Baltic countries and Ukraine to discuss topics of the utmost importance for the future of Ukraine – our future.