Team

Alyona Getmanchuk, Founder and Director of the New Europe Center, is an experienced Ukrainian foreign policy analyst and think tank manager. Her previous achievements include her
engagement with the Institute of World Policy, where she served
as a founder and director for 8 years. Since 2016 she is a member of Ukraine-Poland Presidential Advisory Committee.

Her journalistic experience covers almost 15 years of work as 
international policy observer and editor. She is an author of numerous articles in Ukrainian and foreign media outlets (including The New York Times, The Financial Times, Politico, Gazeta Wyborcza, Moscow Times), and interviews, including the first and the only in the moment interview of US president given to a Ukrainian journalist. Alyona is a contributor to Kyiv’s influential Mirror Weekly newspaper for more than 15 years. She also keeps a blog at the most popular Ukrainian web-site “Ukrainska Pravda” which used to be entitled “Euroatlanticist diary”.

In June 2017, she received a state award for her input in Ukraine’s European integration process.

Research interests: perception of Ukraine in the EU, regional security, Euro-Atlantic integration, Ukraine’s relations with Poland, the USA and Germany.

Sergiy SolodkyyFirst Deputy Director of the New Europe Center, is an expert in foreign policy, international relations, and security. Previously, he worked at the Institute of World Policy (2010-2017). Solodkyy graduated from the Westminster University majoring in International Relations and also from the Institute of Journalism of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Since 1999 he has served as an editor of international news desks at the leading Ukrainian newspapers “The Day”, “Gazeta 24”, and “Glavred”.

His comments and interviews are regularly published in the Ukrainian and foreign media. Solodkyy participated in writing of a number of policy papers and studies on foreign policy issues and regional security.

Research interests: security policy, European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine, Minsk agreements, Ukraine’s relations with Russia, Germany, Romania and the UK.

Leonid LitraSenior Research Fellow at the New Europe Center, previously worked at the Institute World Policy (2012-2017). He also served as Deputy Director at the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul” in Chisinau (Moldova) where he is now an Associate Fellow. In 2011, he was part of the expert team carrying out the Strategic Conflict Assessment of the Transnistrian conflict for the European Commission.

Leonid has co-authored many publications on democratization of the post-Soviet area, European integration and frozen conflicts. He is also part of the core team for preparing the “European Integration Index for Eastern Partnership Countries” (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014), the Visa Liberalization Index of the Eastern Partnership Countries and a regular reviewer of the Nations in Transit Report on Moldova of the Freedom House and contributor to the Bertelsmann Transformation Index and to the researches for the EU institutions, such as the European Parliament.

Leonid was a Carnegie Research Fellow at Yale University and holds a master’s degree from the European Institute of High International Studies in Nice (France) in International Relations and European Studies.

Research interests: democratization in post-Soviet space, European integration, “frozen conflicts”, Eastern Partnership, Ukraine’s relations with Moldova, Romania, and France.

Kateryna Zarembo, Associated Senior Fellow, the New Europe Center. She teaches at the Master’s Degree Program “German and European Studies” at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. From 2010 to 2017 worked at the Institute of World Politics; she was a Deputy Director at the New Europe Center in 2017-2019.

She got her Ph.D. from the National Institute for Strategic Studies (Kyiv, Ukraine), holds an MA in European Studies from the University College Dublin (Dublin, Ireland) and an MA in English and Italian Languages at the National Taras Shevchenko University (Kyiv, Ukraine). In 2010-2011 she was a Fellow of the Open Society Institute.

Research interests: EU-Ukraine political dialogue, the security sector reform, the security mission of the European Union, Ukraine’s relations with Poland, Italy, and Israel, the settlement of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

Nataliya Butyrska, Visiting Senior Fellow, an expert on East Asia. She is the author of over 100 analytical materials and research papers on international relations, with a special focus on the Asia-Pacific region. She collaborates with publications such as Dzerkalo Tyzhnia, Ukrainian Pravda, and The Week. Additionally, she serves as an expert on various TV and radio channels, including BBC, Kyiv, Pryamyy, Espresso, FreeDom, ICTV, STB, Ukrlive, Belcat, Suspilne, Ukrainian Radio, Radio Hromadske, Radio NV, and Radio Liberty. She is a regular contributor to research conducted by the Observer Research Foundation (India), Prospect Foundation (Taiwan), and COICE (Czech Republic). In 2018, she participated in an expert group at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine tasked with developing Ukraine’s Asian strategy.

Nataliya graduated from the Institute of Journalism at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in 1999 and later attended The Diplomatic Academy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in 2017. She pursued studies at Wonkwang University (Iksan, Republic of Korea) and Ajou University (Suwon, Republic of Korea) and completed internships at The Ignacy Jan Paderewski Polish Institute of Diplomacy.

Research interests: international politics, geopolitical issues of the Asia-Pacific region, China’s rise and its global and regional influence, as well as relations between Ukraine and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region.

Marianna Fakhurdinova, Associated Fellow at the New Europe Center. Young European Ambassador – gives lectures on Ukraine’s relations with the EU and NATO for students. She holds an MA in European Studies, BA in International Relations and Translation (Ukrainian-English) from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Former intern of the Ukrainian Embassy in Berlin, graduate of the Guildhall School of International Journalism and NATO Professional Development Program “YOUNG UA”.

Сo-organizer of the youth mentorship program “14:35” (initiative of the Ukrainian Youth Delegates to the UN), mentor within the youth development program “10:11”. Participant of the conferences, models and fora on topical issues of the EU, NATO and the UN, in Ukraine and abroad.

Research interests: security policy, NATO and EU integration of Ukraine, EU security projects, European and Euro-Atlantic reforms in Ukraine, Ukraine’s relations with Germany.

Dmytro Babushko, project manager.

Dmytro’s professional experience includes an internship at the Office of the Vice-Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration.

He studied at Lviv National University and Kyiv Institute of International Relations.

Dmytro will participate in the implementation of important “New Europe” initiatives aimed at the successful movement of Ukraine towards membership in the EU and NATO. Babushko quickly got involved in the intensive work pace of the think tank.

Research interests: international security, European and Euro-Atlantic intergration, Eastern Partnership.

Anna Medvedeva, Associated Fellow at the New Europe Center. She received a degree in Political Communications in Goldsmiths, University of London. She has worked with embassies of Austria, the Netherlands and Germany as a political expert. She ran the Human Rights Fund at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Anna has experience of working in the non-governmental sector, most notably, in the Czech organization People in Need (human rights and anti-corruption programs) and in the international charitable foundation “IZOLYATSIA. Platform for Cultural Initiatives” (program development and communication policy).

 

Research interests: peacebuilding process in Donbass, European integration, Ukraine-EU relations, Ukraine-Britain relations.