After an arduous selection process, we have selected several outstanding Ukrainian thought leaders that we seek to fund. Help fund more Future of Ukraine Fellows. Here are their stories.

Our Future of Ukraine fellows are the top Ukrainian thought leaders who can continue their work and tell the untold stories of the war thanks to this fellowship. Below you will find the bios of our current fellows.

 Bohdan Bernatskyi

Bohdan Bernatskyi is a Senior Lecturer in International Law at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and Ostroh Academy. He is a legal practitioner and helps the Ukrainian government and Members of Parliament in the fields of sanctions and transitional justice reforms. His academic interests include human rights, the functioning of political parties and countermeasures in international relations. Read Bohdan’s articles here.

Christine Karelska

Christine Karelska is an alumna of the College of Europe in Natolin and the Democracy Study Centre in Kyiv. Her main specialization is the European Neighborhood Policy. Christine was an intern-analyst of the Public Association “Community Associations” in Odesa. Her main academic spheres of interest are security studies, international relations, gender equality and local governance. Currently, she is working as an Advisor on International Relations of the Vice Mayor of Odesa and as an Assistant to the Deputy of the Odesa City Council. Previously, she worked as a Project Manager of the Ze!Women movement aimed at gender equality and promotion of the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska’s projects in the Odesa region. Read Christine’s articles here.

Aleksandra Klitina

​​Aleksandra Klitina is a Senior Correspondent for Kyiv Post, with over a decade of experience in private and public institutions, including serving as a former Deputy Minister in Ukraine’s Ministry of Infrastructure. She has a background in advocating infrastructure and public administration reforms and has worked on EU projects in Ukraine. Read Aleksandra’s articles here.

Hennadiy Maksak

Hennadiy Maksak is the founder and executive director of Foreign Policy Council Ukrainian Prism, which enhances Ukraine’s foreign policy and international security. He served as President of the Polissya Foundation for International and Regional Studies, promoting regional cooperation and advancing Ukraine’s foreign policy agenda. Hennadiy held high-profile positions in the Ukrainian government, including Chair of the Civic Council under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Read Hennadiy’s articles here.

Tetyana Oleksiyuk

Tetyana Oleksiyuk is a researcher, lecturer, and advisor on national legislation and international standards related to access in the information sphere. Her work has significantly contributed to improving access to information legislation and administrative practices in Ukraine by collecting information from various sources. She is an active advisor to key stakeholders, including the Ombudsperson, Council of Europe, UNDP, representatives of official authorities, the Supreme Court of Ukraine, and civil society organisations. Read Tetyana’s articles here.

Vitaly Portnikov

Vitaly is an author and renowned journalist working in democratic media in Central and Eastern Europe for more than three decades. He is the author of hundreds of analytical articles in Ukrainian, Belarusian, Polish, Russian, Israeli, and Baltic media. He hosts television programs and his own analytical channels on YouTube. He is currently broadcasting at the office of the Espreso TV channel in Lviv and continues to cooperate with the Ukrainian and Russian services of Radio Liberty. On the Russian service of Radio Liberty, he continues the project about the post-Soviet space “Roads to Freedom”, which was aired first from Moscow, then from Kyiv, and is now being produced in Lviv as a joint project of Radio Liberty, the Current Time TV channel and the Espreso TV channel. Read Vitaly’s articles here.

Volodymyr Yermolenko

Volodymyr Yermolenko is a Ukrainian philosopher, journalist and writer. He is the President of PEN Ukraine and the current Analytics director at Internews Ukraine, one of the largest and oldest Ukrainian media NGOs. He is also the Editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld.org, a multimedia project in English about Ukraine and an Associate professor at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. He has been published in numerous outlets, such as The Economist, Le Monde, Financial Times, New York Times, and Newsweek. Read Volodymyr’s articles here.

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Contribute to Fund Additional Future of Ukraine Fellows

Contribute now to help the next generation of fellows continue their work in Ukraine for building back a democratic and prosperous country!

We call upon all of our subscribers, readers, and partners to donate to this fellowship program and help the following Ukrainians be the leading voices of the untold stories behind and beyond the Russian invasion of Ukraine and cover topics the war might have interrupted. 

Since April 2022 the programme has been generously funded by individual donations and subscriptions (20 per cent of the total value to date), institutional donations (10 per cent) and an institutional grant from the National Endowment for Democracy (70 per cent).

The Future of Ukraine Fellowship

To address the humanitarian crisis stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Visegrad Insight, Res Publica Foundation will use all of its proceeds from subscriptions to our website to establish three paid, full-time editorial positions as part of the Future of Ukraine Fellowship for a six-month period.

The dreadful events in Ukraine have forced all of us to rethink the main tenets of security, the importance of democratic values, and the right of a free nation to defend its sovereignty. As the Russian invasion continues to displace millions of Ukrainians — along with thousands of victims of the war — we are left with hundreds and thousands of untold stories and lost narratives that have been missing from mainstream accounts of recent events.

To showcase the bravery and resilient spirit of the Ukrainian people during these troubling times, Visegrad Insight has established the Future of Ukraine Fellowship that will give space to Ukrainian voices who stayed at home to defend their country and build up their democracy. As disinformation persists in the media infosphere, there is a demand for solid voices who will take a more human-centred approach to the ongoing events in Ukraine.

We call upon all of our subscribers, readers, and partners to donate to this fellowship program to help Ukrainians be the leading voices of the untold stories behind and beyond the Russian invasion of Ukraine and cover topics the war might have interrupted.

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