Enhancing Cooperation

Building Bridges Through Collaboration and Dialogue

Global challenges require global solutions, and cooperation is the key to creating meaningful impact. At the Ukraine Foundation, we promote partnerships and collaboration across borders by advancing opportunities in trade, investment, policy, and public affairs.

Through our work, we facilitate platforms for dialogue between governments, businesses, and civil society.

By hosting conferences, roundtables, and networking events, we enable stakeholders to share ideas, develop solutions, and build partnerships that drive progress.

In the fields of trade and investment, our initiatives aim
at fostering economic growth and creating sustainable
business relationships.

We were honored that our General Secretary, Yevghen Shulgha, was invited to address the 2025 Europe Liberty Forum, hosted by Atlas Network in Brussels on May 22-23.

Atlas Network, a nonpartisan, nonprofit foundation that supports the development and success of pro-freedom organizations throughout the world, connects with almost 500 think tanks in over 100 countries that drive change in ideas, culture, and policy; remove barriers to opportunities; and empower individuals to live a life of choice.

This major gathering brought together economists, policymakers, and leaders committed to advancing economic freedom, individual liberty, and open markets across Europe.

Yevghen Shulgha shared key insights from Ukraine’s Price of the State project, an initiative aimed at making economic policy accessible to everyday citizens. He emphasized the core challenge that even many policymakers struggle to understand basic economic concepts. His proposed rule was simple: always explain economics as if your audience were “a grandma from a village,” avoiding jargon, abstract statistics, and complex logic.

He presented several successful communication tools from the project: visual aids like the Price of the State Calculator and Sankey charts, relatable analogies such as the “$1,500 sandwich” to explain trade, and interactive tools like the Customs Meter Game. These approaches work because they simplify, visualize, and humanize abstract data—translating macroeconomic indicators into real-life impact, such as days of labor or years of development lost. By using surprise, humor, and intuitive comparisons, economic literacy can become not only achievable, but engaging for all.

At a time when Europe confronts new economic and geopolitical pressures, his perspective contribute vital ideas on how to foster growth, innovation and freedom in challenging environments in line with the 500+ member organizations’ commitment to build a freer and more prosperous future for all.

Paris: Maksym Glukhov Participates in PGA Meeting at the National Assembly, France’s Lower House of Parliament

Maksym Glukhov, our Director for Political Affairs, attended the international session of the Professional Government Association of Ukraine (PGA) in Paris on March 27, in cooperation with Euro Creative and with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (France). This significant gathering brought together government leaders, policy experts, and representatives from across Europe to collaborate on forward-looking strategies for France to strengthen its support for Ukraine in the field of security and European integration. The conference explored the opportunities and obstacles for increasing French military support to Ukraine for a more secure Europe and for supporting Ukraine’s integration into the EU, including through public administration reform.

The two-panel event brought together leaders from the French public sector, the expert community, the private sector and other organisations working closely with Ukraine.

The first panel focused on military support to Ukraine and geopolitical perspectives for Ukraine’s future, while the second panel was dedicated to supporting Ukraine’s reforms for European integration in the context of reconstruction, including strengthening the capacity of its public administration.

Maksym Glukhov’s participation underscores the Foundation’s commitment to strengthening international cooperation and advancing best practices in public administration. The event marked a key moment for fostering dialogue and building partnerships that shape the future of effective governance.

Our Fellows Supporting the Policy Program

Dr. Mariya Heletiy, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Peace Processes and Conflict Resolution

Dr. Mariya Heletiy is a Ukrainian political scientist and international relations expert specializing in conflict resolution, democratic governance, and civil society development. With over 20 years of experience across academic, governmental, and nonprofit sectors, she has dedicated her career to promoting peace, strengthening democratic institutions, and supporting Ukraine’s post-conflict recovery and international integration. She currently resides in Berlin, Germany, where she continues her work in international diplomacy and policy advocacy.

Dr. Heletiy has served as the Deputy Chief of Party for the USAID Ukraine Civil Society Sectoral Support Activity, a five-year initiative led by a consortium of Ukrainian civil society organizations including Ednannia, CEDEM (Center for Democracy and Rule of Law), and UCIPR (Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research). In this role, she focused on improving the legal framework, sustainability, and institutional resilience of Ukrainian CSOs during wartime and beyond.

Previously, she managed political process and elections programs for USAID Ukraine, contributing to transparent electoral reform and inclusive democratic participation. She also led security and policy projects at the Open Ukraine Foundation, promoting Euro-Atlantic cooperation and supporting regional leadership in foreign policy.

Earlier in her career, Dr. Heletiy founded and directed the European Information and Research Center of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, now integrated into the Parliament’s Research Service. In that capacity, she played a key role in fostering EU-Ukraine legislative cooperation and policy research.

Dr. Heletiy holds a Ph.D. and Master’s degree in International Relations from academic institutions in Ukraine, with a doctoral focus on post-Yugoslav conflict resolution and peace-building. She also completed research fellowships at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and the University of California, Berkeley, where she expanded her expertise in international conflict analysis and comparative peace processes.

Dr. Heletiy is an active contributor to policy and academic discourse on peace and conflict. Her recent publications include “Peace Formula and Lessons Learned from the Balkans and Nagorno-Karabakh” in Ukraine Analytica, and an op-ed in St. Antony’s International Review, where she explores historical lessons applicable to Ukraine’s current war and peace efforts.

She serves on the advisory board of the International Diplomacy Initiative and collaborates with networks that support democratic resilience, civil society empowerment, and post-war reconstruction in Ukraine and Eastern Europe.

Dr. Heletiy is fluent in Ukrainian, English, and Serbian.

William Dixon, Senior Fellow, Technology and Cybersecurity Affairs

William Dixon is an Associate Fellow of the Royal United Service Institute specializing in cyber and international security issues.

William Dixon started his career in the UK Intelligence Community. He was an operational and strategic lead for a range of national security and cyber programmes for Her Majesty’s Government. This included major experience working on a number of high-profile international cybercrime investigations.

After leaving Government he was the Head of Future Networks and Technology at the World Economic Forum. He was also an executive at Barclays where he was the Global Head of Intelligence.

He is the author and contributor to a number of publications and has a Master’s degree from King’s College London’s War Studies Department in Intelligence and International Security.

Guénaël Le Breton, Senior Fellow, Defense and Security Affairs

Guénaël Le Breton is a distinguished French military officer whose career spans over three decades in defense, intelligence, strategic policy, and international cooperation.

A former Lieutenant-Colonel in the French Army,  he has led European projects focusing on law enforcement cooperation for CIVIPOL, the technical cooperation operator of the French Ministry of the Interior. He has served as Head of competitive intelligence for Auchan, one of the largest retailer worldwide with a significant presence across the post Soviet states, and as Head of International Cooperation at the French Embassy in Azerbaïdjan.

A Knight in the National Order of Merit, Guenaël Le Breton graduated from the Special Military School of Saint-Cyr. He speaks proficiently French, English and Russian.

Ingrid Belottini, Fellow, Defense Studies

Ingrid Belottini is a seasoned expert in defense and international security, with a distinguished career spanning strategic analysis, institutional leadership, and civic engagement. She has notably served as President of the Centre-Val de Loire chapter and as Executive Committee member of the Institute of High Studies in National Defense (IHEDN), a French public institution placed under the supervision of the Prime Minister, committed to strengthening  national cohesion and to fostering strategic thinking on defense and security issues.

She played a pivotal role in fostering dialogue between civil society, defense institutions, and academic stakeholders.

Her analytical acumen is exemplified by her publication on terrorist threats in East Africa, contributing to the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center (ESISC).

She is an alumna of the 190th regional session of the Institute of High Studies in National Defense.

Alina Zubrytska, Assistant Fellow, Humanitarian Affairs

Alina Zubrytska is a dedicated legal professional currently serving as a Caseworker and Protection Family Links Officer at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Switzerland. She gained experience as a legal assistant and paralegal within law firms and non-governmental organizations, where she worked on legal documentation and supported vulnerable populations. 

She holds a Master’s degree in Global European Studies from the University of Basel, a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Zaporizhzhya National University and a Master’s Degree in Slavic Languages, Literature and Linguistics from Dniprovsk State Technical University.

She speaks fluently English, French, Ukrainian and Russian.

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