Anastasia Piliavsky

Anastasia Piliavsky is Reader in Anthropology and Politics at King’s College London and founder of Ukrainian Cosmopolis. She leads an ERC-funded project on the political languages of India, which includes comparative research in Ukraine. Her work focuses on political languages, democracy, and statehood through the everyday experience of ordinary people, in India and more recently also in Ukraine. She publishes and speaks widely on language politics, social cohesion, public tensions, and political life in wartime Ukraine. At the forum, she will speak about the political consequences of coercive mobilisation, and about national unity in face of Russia's hybrid war.

Gennady Druzenko

Gennady Druzenko is a Ukrainian public intellectual, constitutional scholar and founder of the Pirogov First Volunteer Mobile Hospital (PDMSh), one of Ukraine’s best-known frontline medical initiatives. Before the Russian invasion, he focused on constitutional law, constitutional design, and Ukraine’s European integration. Since 2014, he has operated at the intersection of war, frontline emergency medical response, and civil society. At the forum, he will address emergency rule, the risks facing Ukrainian democracy under conditions of war, and the constitutional prospects and challenges of the post-war Ukraine.

Brendan Simms

Brendan Simms is Professor of the History of International Relations at the University of Cambridge and Director of the Cambridge Centre for Geopolitics. His work focuses on European power, war, and state formation from the early modern period to the present. He is the author of numerous books on European geopolitics, grand strategy, and the historical foundations of international order. At the forum, he brings a comparative perspective on how states emerge from war and what determines whether they stabilise or fracture.

Ganna Yudkivska

Ganna Yudkivska is a Ukrainian human rights lawyer and expert in constitutional law and judicial reform. A former judge of the European Court of Human Rights (2010–2022), she is currently Vice-Chair of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and Vice-President of the European Society of International Law. Her work focuses on constitutional reform, rule of law, democratic accountability, and the resilience of legal institutions under conditions of political strain. At the forum, she will speak about constitutional reform and democratic governance under prolonged wartime emergency rule.

Ella Libanova

Ella Libanova is Director of the Ptoukha Institute for Demography and Social Studies at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. One of Ukraine’s leading demographers and social economists, she has shaped national policy on population, labour markets, poverty, and human development for over two decades. She has advised Ukrainian governments, international organisations, and UN agencies on demographic and social policy. At the forum, she will set out the scale and structure of Ukraine’s demographic crisis and the conditions necessary for population recovery and return.

Piotr Kulpa

Piotr Kulpa is a Polish public policy expert and Undersecretary of State in Poland’s Ministry of Economy and Labour. Since 2005, he has worked extensively on Ukrainian administrative reform, decentralisation, and state capacity, including as leader of the EU project “Support for the Administration of Ukraine.” His work focuses on the deeper “meta-institutions” that shape whether formal reforms succeed or fail. At the forum, he will discuss the structural weaknesses of Ukrainian governance and the limits of standard Euro-American reform instruments.

Volodymyr Minenko

Volodymyr Minenko is a Ukrainian theatre and film actor with decades of experience in experimental theatre, film, and performance. A long-time actor of Kyiv’s Dakh Theatre, he has participated in numerous productions and international tours across Europe. In 2023, he joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine and took part in combat operations in the south and north of the country before being discharged after being wounded. He has since returned to the stage at the Ivan Franko National Drama Theatre. At the forum, he will speak from a frontline serviceman’s perspective about mobilisation and the human experience of war.

Gert Antsu

Gert Antsu is the Director for Ukraine, Moldova and Southern Caucasus and Special Envoy for Eastern Partnership at the Estonian MFA. He has served as Ambassador to Ukraine and Belgium (co-accredited to Belgium and Luxembourg) and as Deputy Permanent Representative to the European Union (Coreper I). He worked on the preparation of Estonia for EU membership from 1997 and after the Estonian accession to the EU as the Director for EU Affairs in the Government Office and advisor to Prime Minister. He has lectured extensively on the European Union related topics in various Estonian universities and has shared Estonia’s EU accession experience in Croatia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. 

Marina Gribanova

Marina Gribanova is a Ukrainian psychologist, rehabilitation specialist, and public commentator based in Kharkiv. She heads the rehabilitation centre Narconon Kyiv and works on addiction recovery, trauma, and social reintegration. In recent years, she has become a widely followed public voice on the social and psychological consequences of war, polarisation, and cultural conflict in Ukraine. At the forum, she will speak about the social psychology of alienation, identity pressure, and the emotional consequences of coercive cultural politics under wartime conditions.

David Williams

David Williams is Professor of Law at Indiana University and one of the principal international contributors to debates on Ukrainian constitutional reform. He is the lead author of Ukraine’s Constitutional Manifesto and has worked extensively on constitutional design, decentralisation, and democratic resilience in post-authoritarian states. His work focuses on how legal systems survive periods of extreme political and military pressure. At the forum, he will discuss constitutional recovery and democratic legitimacy after prolonged war.

Evgeniy Stepanov

Evgeniy Stepanov is Head of the All-Ukrainian Trade Union of Combatants of Servicemen and Veterans, and has worked on veterans’ advocacy, reintegration policy, and post-service support structures since the beginning of the war in Donbas. His work focuses on the long-term social consequences of mass mobilisation and military service. At the forum, he will discuss national veterans’ policy, reintegration, and the risks of exclusion and social fragmentation after war.

Anne van Aaken 

Anne van Aaken is a German legal scholar and economist and Professor of Law and Economics, Legal Theory, Public International Law, and European Law at the University of Hamburg. One of Europe’s leading thinkers on law, institutions, and governance under conditions of political strain, her work bridges legal theory, behavioural economics, corruption studies, and international law. She has advised organisations including the World Bank and OECD and was the first female legal scholar in Germany to receive an Alexander von Humboldt Professorship. At the forum, she will speak on constitutional legitimacy, institutional trust, and post-war state reconstruction.

Elena Knyazeva

Olena Knyazeva is an Оdessa-based sociologist, Director of the Pulse Sociological Research Centre, and Associate Professor at Odessa Polytechnic National University. Her work focuses on public trust, political legitimacy, wartime social attitudes, and the emotional relationship between citizens and the state. She has conducted research on shifting patterns of trust and alienation in Ukraine during the full-scale war, including the relationship between symbolic wartime leadership and institutional credibility. At the forum, she will speak about trust, emotional withdrawal, and the changing social psychology of belonging under prolonged wartime conditions.

Ugo Poletti

Ugo Poletti is an Italian journalist based in Odessa and Editor of The Odessa Journal. He has reported extensively on Ukraine, regional politics, and Black Sea affairs for international audiences. His work focuses on media narratives, public discourse, and the ways Ukraine is perceived abroad. At the forum, he will discuss how Ukraine’s internal culture wars shape European perceptions of the country and interact with Russian information warfare.

Khalid Sheptitsky

Khalid Sheptitsky is Head of the Odessa Regional Trade Union of Combatants and Military Personnel and a combat veteran based in southern Ukraine. Holding a Master’s degree in psychology, he works closely with veterans, wounded soldiers, and military families on the everyday realities of reintegration after war, including treatment, housing, financial insecurity, and social adaptation. At the forum, he will speak about the pressures facing soldiers and their families and the challenges of rebuilding civilian life after prolonged military service.

Alyona Synenko

Alyona Synenko is a Ukrainian writer, journalist, and former humanitarian aid worker who currently serves as a writer for the UN Environment Programme. She is best known for her spokesperson roles with the International Committee of the Red Cross during major global conflicts and her evocative essays on resilience in war for The New York Times.

Dmytro Kharchuk

Dmytro Kharchuk serves in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and works on veteran reintegration and military support initiatives. His experience bridges frontline service and the practical realities of demobilisation and post-war adaptation. At the forum, he will speak about military service exhaustion, demobilisation, and the social pressures facing soldiers returning to civilian life.

Kateryna Shaliapina

Kateryna Shaliapina is a civic activist and Vice President of the charitable organisation “The Way Home” (“Shliakh do Domu”), as well as a member of the Expert Council of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights. She specialises in combating gender-based violence, protecting the rights of women and children, and developing humanitarian and social programmes in wartime conditions.

She coordinates projects aimed at supporting people affected by war, creating safe spaces for women (including managing a shelter for women who have survived violence), children, and young people, and developing educational and rehabilitation initiatives. She has extensive practical experience working with international donors, state institutions, and civil society organisations.

Sergei Sakhanenko

Serhii Sakhanenko is Professor of Public Administration at Odessa Polytechnic National University and Head of the Association of Public Administration Researchers. A specialist in local government, decentralisation, and institutional reform, he has spent more than three decades working on questions of public governance and administrative systems in Ukraine. His work focuses on how centralised systems reproduce themselves through cadre and institutional logics, and on why decentralisation may be essential for meaningful reform in a socially and regionally diverse country. 

Yulia Kovalenko

Yulia Kovalenko is a Ukrainian lawyer and civic advocate currently based in Brussels, working on veteran reintegration, rehabilitation, and post-war recovery. She is co-founder and head of the civic organisation Ukraine2.0 and of the initiative Veterans – The Way Home, and a member of the Rehabilitation Forces of Ukraine network. Trained in law and holding a PhD in legal studies, she works at the intersection of veterans’ policy, social reintegration, and state reform, with a particular focus on the long-term social consequences of war in Ukraine. 

Saïd Isaiev

Saïd Isaev serves in the Sheikh Mansur Battalion, a Chechen volunteer unit fighting for Ukraine against Russian forces. Formed by opponents of Ramzan Kadyrov and Russian rule in the North Caucasus, the battalion has become one of the most visible symbols of the participation of non-ethnic Ukrainians in Ukraine’s defence. Its fighters frame their struggle as part of a broader fight against imperial domination and authoritarian rule. At the forum, he will speak about military service, belonging, and the role of national minorities in Ukraine’s wartime and post-war political community.

Michael Wasiura

Michael is the English Language Editor at The Insider. From 2022-2023, he worked as Newsweek’s correspondent on the ground in Ukraine. Since 2006, he has spent a total of thirteen years in Russia and Ukraine, working as a journalist, university instructor, village school teacher, and television talk show pundit.

Yuriy Romanenko

Yuri Romanyenko is a Ukrainian political analyst, historian, and editor of the analytical publication Hvylya. He is also the creator of the widely followed Romanyenko YouTube channel, where he comments on Ukrainian politics, war, statehood, and geopolitical change. His work combines historical analysis with contemporary political strategy and public commentary. At the forum, he will address what Ukraine’s European allies still fundamentally misunderstand about the country — and why those misunderstandings matter for Ukraine’s future.

Uday Chandra

Uday Chandra is a political scientist, anthropologist, and public intellectual based at Ashoka University in New Delhi. His work focuses on democracy, state formation, ethnicity, and political life in contemporary India. He studied at Yale under James Scott and now writes widely for Indian and international public audiences on politics, nationalism, and democracy from the ground up. A co-investigator on Anastasia Piliavsky’s current ERC project "India’s Politics in its Vernaculars," he will speak about India’s linguistic federalism: its tensions, compromises, and role in holding together an extraordinarily diverse nation.

Oleksandr Kovalenko

Oleksandr Kovalenko is a Ukrainian political and military analyst specialising in Russian information warfare. He has closely tracked how Russian narratives shape perceptions of the war both inside Ukraine and internationally. At the forum, he will examine how these narratives influence public understanding of the war and what their long-term consequences may be.

Olena Smolyak

Olena Smolyak is a lawyer, partner at the SETES Law Association, board member of the NGO Pravosvidomi, and partner of the Veterans — Way Home project. She specialises in military law, mobilisation, the protection of the rights of servicemen and veterans, and the legal dimensions of relations between citizens and the state in wartime conditions. She is actively involved in legal and civic initiatives supporting veterans and providing legal assistance during the war. At the forum, she will speak about the legal problems and broader social consequences of coercive mobilisation.

Vyacheslav Vasyliev

Vyacheslav Vasyliev is a colonel, professional military officer, veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war, and head of the International Alliance of Defenders of Ukraine. He has served on key frontlines from the early years of the war through the full-scale invasion, leading defence operations and volunteer units. He is actively involved in supporting veterans, military families, and rehabilitation initiatives. He is also known for his outspoken stance against corruption and for strengthening public responsibility and state institutions. At the forum, he will speak about veteran experience and Ukraine’s post-war recovery.

Ayub Isakov

Ayub Isakov is the official representative of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in Odesa and a public and political figure whose work is dedicated to human rights, freedom, and international solidarity. He currently heads the Representation of the Government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in exile in Odesa, carrying out an important diplomatic and coordination mission in southern Ukraine. Ayub Isakov works to consolidate the Chechen diaspora, foster intercultural dialogue, support humanitarian initiatives, and develop cooperation with Ukrainian institutions.

Ansar Garkho

Ansar Garkho is an Ingush political figure, co-founder and head of the Committee of Ingush Independence. Born in Malgobek, Republic of Ingushetia, he studied law at Ingush State University. His public work focuses on national self-determination, political resistance, and civic organisation within Ingush society. After leaving Russia, he was involved in humanitarian projects in Asia and Africa and later took part in building the Ingush diaspora community in Istanbul.

Inna Holubovych

Inna Holubovych is a philosopher, Doctor of Philosophical Sciences, and Head of the Department of Philosophy at Odesa I. I. Mechnikov National University. She is Chair of the Odesa Philosophical Society, a member of the Ukrainian Philosophical Foundation and Ukrainian Cosmopolis, and an expert of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine for the scientific and technical evaluation of humanities projects. She is also an organiser of educational projects in the public sphere. Her research interests include social philosophy, anthropology, ethics, intellectual history, public philosophy, social and humanitarian analysis and expertise, biography studies, oral history, testimony, and memory.

Maya Dimerli

Maya Dimerli is a writer, translator, and Head of the Odesa — UNESCO City of Literature Office. Since 2023, she has been developing Odesa’s international literary connections within the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, initiating cultural, educational, and interdisciplinary projects. She was a co-organiser of the 2017 flash mob “Odesa Reads! Odesa Is Being Read!”, during which more than 1,000 participants read works by Odesa authors in 30 languages of the world. Her work brings together literary practice, cultural diplomacy, and the promotion of Odesa as a polyphonic European literary city.