Andreas Umland needs no introduction 🙌 Being one of the key experts on the region, Andreas has been part of EPIK's expert team since its inception. Andreas extensively comments on Ukraine, Russia, and East European geopolitics for international media. 🔗 epik.eu/team/andreas-umland/

Zelensky's warm welcome in Yerevan wasn't just symbolism. Armenia is quietly stepping back from Moscow's orbit — and Ukraine is becoming both a warning and a model.

Mykhailo Drapatyi takes charge of Ukraine's army, facing the same manpower shortages and battlefield constraints as his predecessor. Still, there is a real chance to change how the military itself operates, from command culture to innovation integration.

When Western aid fell short in 2024, Ukraine leaned on civilian engineers and volunteers to fill the gap. In the air, it worked: UAVs delivered fire support, recon, and strikes at low cost — and reshaped the battlefield. 🧵

Thornike Gordadze came to Kyiv as an EPIK Visiting Policy Fellow to gain a fresh perspective on the region. A French political scholar originally from Georgia, he specialises in the former Soviet Union, the Caucasus, and European integration.

Ukraine's war strategy is shifting. Instead of chasing territorial breakthroughs, Kyiv is now waging a systematic campaign against the infrastructure that keeps Russia's war machine running — hitting refineries, railways and depots up to 2,000 km inside Russian territory.

Ankara delivered better than expected: new defence-industrial projects set the footing for stronger European pillar in the future, and the steady support for Ukraine underlined unity among the allies.

📣 We're delighted to welcome Nadiia Koval to the EPIK team as a Policy Fellow. Nadiia's expertise spans 3 key areas: 🔹 Security dimensions of EU development and Ukraine's EU accession 🔹 Perception of Ukraine, its culture and politics abroad 🔹 International reconciliation policy and memory wars

Europe is increasingly looking to learn from Ukraine's battlefield experience — and drone warfare, one of the fastest-evolving areas of the conflict, is a prime example.

Ukraine's "IKEA model" treats ground robots as expendable: good enough to use, cheap enough to lose, simple enough to fix in the field. Russia and some Western programmes are building the opposite — systems too expensive to risk and too fragile to survive.

🔎 Meet our Policy Fellow, Lesia Bidochko Lesia studies military technology innovation through a political economy lens combining academic research and applied policy analysis. Her research is grounded in the realities of Ukraine's defense and security transformation.

Greetings from Brussels 🙌 Together w/ Ukrainian Prism we organised an expert discussion on the next steps of Ukraine’s EU accession process — just one week after the opening of Cluster 1 (“Fundamentals”).

De EU is nu echt begonnen aan toetredingsonderhandelingen met Oekraïne. Kyiv heeft de taak om hervormingen voort te zetten, maar ook Brussel kan niet achterover leunen, schrijft Ivan Nagornyak, Policy Fellow bij @epik-ukraine.bsky.social platformraam.nl/artikelen/30...

Houd het tempo van Oekraïne’s EU-toetreding hoog

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Alle sehnen Frieden in der Ukraine herbei. Aber wenn er wirklich käme, welche Fragen würde er aufwerfen? Mit Oleksandr Kraiev in der @nzz.ch Neue Zürcher Zeitung European Policy Institute in Kyiv - @epik-ukraine.bsky.social Foreign Policy Council "Ukrainian Prism" www.nzz.ch/meinung/wenn...

Wenn die Waffen schweigen – die Ukraine am Tag danach

Alle sehnen Frieden in der Ukraine herbei. Aber wenn er wirklich käme, welche Fragen würde er aufwerfen? Die Regierung in Kiew, die EU und die Koalition der Willigen müssen sich auf zahlreiche neue He...

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Other countries' experience already shows the benefits of EU single market access. For 🇺🇦, the stakes are even higher: genuine market integration means higher GDP, more investment and faster industrial recovery. Single market access can also drive candidate countries to accelerate 🇪🇺 membership.

Looking forward to the collaboration ahead 🤝

ECFR@ecfr.eu · 2mo ago

ECFR has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with @epik-ukraine.bsky.social, a new think-tank hub in Kyiv. The partnership will enable ECFR visiting fellows to conduct research in Ukraine using EPIK's infrastructure and network, and to communicate their findings to European publics.

We are pleased to start cooperation with @ecfr.eu, bringing together expertise, networks, and insights from the region to strengthen research and policy thinking on the issues that define European future. Looking forward to working together 🤝

As the first candidate country pursuing accession while fighting a major war on European soil, Ukraine occupies a central place in debates about Europe's future security. In his op-ed for @euractiv.com, @matteomecacci.bsky.social suggests looking at the EU enlargement debate in a new light.

Today marks a milestone: the EU is formally opening the first cluster of accession talks with Ukraine — Fundamentals. The ball is now in Ukraine’s court. But Brussels cannot sit back either. Ivan Nagornyak explains what today’s opening means — and why both Kyiv and Brussels must now mind the pace.

The EU should take a more active role in supporting and coordinating Ukraine's defence sector reform alongside NATO. In a recent commentary for EPIK, Klara Lindström, Yulia Marushevska, and Oksana Osadcha offer concrete policy recommendations for Brussels.

Follow the highlights of the panel discussion on the upcoming opening of 🇪🇺 Cluster 1 (Fundamentals) with Ukraine 🇺🇦. Speakers: @martakos.ec.europa.eu, Taras Kachka, Oleksandr Korniyenko, @geraldknaus.bsky.social, @matteomecacci.bsky.social 📽️ Watch: youtu.be/mnmaGB6YTvw w/ Ukraine2EU

⚔️ Russia’s information war is not just about fake news. It is about fear, division, history, Telegram, far-right networks, and creating an alternative reality In the latest #UkraineInsights, @aksybera.bsky.social speaks with Lessia Bidochko about Russia’s cognitive war against Ukraine and Europe 👇

Russia’s Cognitive War: How Putin Exploits Europe’s Divisions

YouTube video by KI Insights

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The next EPIK's monthly newsletter is coming. Every issue brings you the latest updates, policy briefs and commentaries, highlights from our events, and introductions to our experts. 📩 Subscribe to stay in the loop: epik.eu/subscribe/

On 8 June 2026, Kyiv hosted a public discussion “Ukraine’s Accession: How to Deliver Europe’s Next Enlargement”. The panel brought together Marta Kos, Taras Kachka, Oleksandr Korniyenko, Gerald Knaus, and Katarína Mathernová.

Ukraine is not asking for another symbolic EU status. In the latest #UkraineInsights episode, Alex Fynn speaks with Ivan Nagornyak, a policy fellow at EPIK, about associate membership, Hungary's blockade, accession clusters, and why EU reforms could reshape Ukraine's tax system and FOP model. 👇

Why Ukraine Pushes Back Against Associate EU Status

YouTube video by KI Insights

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Ukraine's EU path is entering a critical moment. Why does Kyiv reject "associate membership" proposals? What do the post-Orbán dynamics reveal about the real obstacles to accession? How will EU integration reshape Ukraine's tax system, business culture, and political economy?

Reforming Ukraine’s defence sector is as much a governance challenge as a military one. How could the EU step up alongside NATO, embedding defence within the EU’s institutional frameworks?

Yesterday, EPIK joined the inaugural Architecture of Security Forum in Kyiv. A new expert platform is dedicated to one of the most urgent questions of our time: how Ukraine's experience is reshaping European security.

Today we celebrate Kyiv — a city where the future of European security is being shaped. This conviction lies at the heart of EPIK. Leaders and experts from across Europe and beyond come to Kyiv to gain first-hand insights into modern warfare, civil society engagement, and democratic reform amid war

European policymakers are exploring ways to upgrade the EU-Ukraine relationship ahead of full membership. The latest initiative comes from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The idea, however, has been met with scepticism in Ukraine.