We are glad to share an interview with Kateryna Zarembo, Chair of the Supervisory Board at the New Europe Center, published in The Ukrainians.

“New Europe” has always been a community of people who combine intellectual work with civic responsibility. One of those who shaped this spirit from the very first years of our organization is Kateryna Zarembo — a security researcher, international politics analyst, writer, mother of four, and now a combat medic with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Kateryna began her professional journey at the Institute of World Policy, whose team later founded the New Europe Center. She belonged to the circle of experts who, together with the Center, helped shape a new European debate in Ukraine. Her contribution was truly significant — it was Zarembo who co-edited the collection “New Europe. Essays by Ukrainian Intellectuals”, which became part of our team’s intellectual legacy.

In her public talks, Kateryna has always emphasized the power of individual action and teamwork: “The Orange Revolution and the Revolution of Dignity shaped the belief that one person matters. And the more time passes, the more I am convinced that one person influences a lot of things. And a team — can achieve everything.”

Her path as an expert and lecturer at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, UCU, Central European University, and other institutions was combined with research and translation work. Among her most remarkable works in recent years is the book “The East of the Ukrainian Sun,” which made it to the shortlists of several prestigious Ukrainian literary awards.

But with the start of Russia’s full-scale war, her life changed. Kateryna joined the volunteer medical battalion “Hospitallers”, and later became a combat medic with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Her words today serve as a guiding light for many: “I don’t fight. I stand next to those who fight,” she once wrote on Instagram. “There are truly heroic people — and I am not one of them. But I try to help the heroic ones. To make their burden lighter,” she said in an interview with Hanna Hopko.

For the New Europe Center, Kateryna remains an inspiring example of how to combine expertise, civic engagement, and personal devotion to the country. We are proud to have her as part of “New Europe” — and grateful for her strength, inspiration, and the example of a true European citizen of Ukraine.

Read the full interview via the link.