On August 21, 2026, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine hosted a round table entitled “Independence of Ukraine: State-Building, Resilience, and European Future.” At the invitation of the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Stefanchuk, the Rector of Chernihiv Polytechnic National University, Oleh Novomlynets, took part in the event.

The round table brought together representatives of different generations of Ukrainian state-building – People’s Deputies of Ukraine who were directly involved in the preparation and adoption of the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, People’s Deputies of the current convocation, representatives of state authorities, as well as the scientific and expert community.

Among the participants were Chairman of the VR of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk, President of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Anatolii Zahorodnii, Chairman of the Supreme Court Stanislav Kravchenko, Acting Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Oleksandr Petryshyn, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Andrii Butenko, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine Liudmyla Kravchenko, and rectors of leading higher education institutions of Ukraine.

During the event, participants discussed the historical experience of Ukrainian state-building, contemporary challenges to Ukraine’s independence and resilience, and the prospects for our state’s European future.

For Chernihiv Polytechnic National University, participation in such a representative format is an important opportunity to join the national dialogue on the development of Ukraine, the role of education and science in strengthening statehood, and shaping a European future.