Robots take the risk: Ukraine’s UGV ecosystem and what Europe should learn from it
Ukraine has systematically removed humans from roles that don’t require human judgment, letting machines absorb the danger soldiers would otherwise face. What UGVs can and can’t do, and what lessons European institutions can draw from Ukraine’s experience.
The day after: Six post-war challenges for Ukraine
A ceasefire is nowhere in sight. Putin sees no interest in ending his war. Even so, the EU should start preparing for the many post-war challenges Ukraine will face.
Oleksandr Kraiev
Andreas Umland
Policy briefs
Ukraine’s relationship with China: A tale of fits and starts
Ivan Nagornyak is a Policy Fellow at EPIK, and also serves as a pro bono advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine.
Ivan has over a decade of experience in EU–Ukraine relations, EU enlargement policy, and institutional alignment with the EU acquis. He previously served as Deputy Director General of the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration at the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, where he supervised a team of over 40 professionals and coordinated cross-government European integration efforts.
In 2020–2021, he coordinated the comprehensive review and update of the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement, leading a task force and facilitating stakeholder consultations to align Ukraine’s strategic objectives with evolving EU policies and internal market priorities.
In 2022, he coordinated Ukraine’s application for EU membership and co-managed the government’s response to the European Commission Questionnaire. He also oversaw the implementation of the seven key political reforms required by the European Commission for the opening of accession negotiations.
Currently, his work focuses on designing a dynamic EU accession model for Ukraine, aimed at accelerating sectoral integration, enabling phased access to EU policies and funding instruments, and strengthening institutional preparedness for membership. In parallel, he supports the implementation of key EU-related projects at CIVITTA Ukraine.
Ivan holds a PhD in Political Science from the Institute of International Relations at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and has completed executive training at the London School of Economics (LSE IDEAS Programme).
A frontrunner by virtue of trust: what the EU’s 2026 report tells Kyiv
Ukraine is an EU membership frontrunner mainly because of its unique geopolitical status. The reality is that there is a substantial gap between this status and its performance in meeting the requirements for entry.
The EU’s preparations for a wider Union: reflections from Kyiv
In June 2022 the EU acknowledged that enlargement would require preparation on its own side. The Commission’s first systemic answer is solid, but still unfinished in places. One issue in particular is conspicuous by its absence: reconstruction.
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