On February 07 and 08, 2024, Nataliia Nestor, Deputy Director of the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, spoke at the Summit on the Anniversary of the Countering Disruptive Technologies Strike Force, an interagency law enforcement initiative aimed at preventing critical technologies from falling into the hands of authoritarian regimes and hostile nation-states, at the invitation of the US government.
Natalia Nestor presented on the use of advanced technologies by Russia in its illegal full-scale aggressive war against Ukraine, as well as on how the work of the Strike Force can help Ukraine in its military efforts and on the need to expand sanctions.
Ukraine was also represented at the summit by Yuriy Belousov, Head of the War Crimes Investigation Department of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, and Vladyslav Vlasiuk, Sanctions Advisor at the Office of the President of Ukraine.
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco delivered remarks and emphasized all the progress made since she first announced the creation of the Strike Force a year ago and thanked the Ukrainian delegation for its cooperation.
The Strike Force is led by Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division and Under Secretary for Export Administration Matthew Axelrod of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, who were joined in Phoenix by U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino of the District of Arizona.
The two-day event kicked off with a day dedicated exclusively to law enforcement, where case studies, investigative best practices, advanced technology briefings and annual reports were discussed.
On the second day, the Strike Force was joined by private sector and academic representatives from across the country who participated in sessions on the Strike Force’s work in various industries, corporate compliance, best practices for building trade compliance programs, and outreach to law enforcement.
All five agencies that make up the Strike Force were represented at the event: The Department of Justice’s National Security Division, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and DCIS.
