Sur-Place Fellows Summer Term 2026

Lesia Bidochko is a two-time KIU Research Fellow and currently serves as a Policy Fellow at the European Policy Institute Kyiv (EPIK) and Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Her work bridges academia and policy analysis. Previously, she was Deputy Head of the Detector Media Research Center, focusing on Russian FIMI, disinformation campaigns, and strategic communications. As a country expert for the Counter Extremism Project, she analyzed Russian propaganda in Germany and its links to foreign fighter recruitment. Her research examines Ukrainian far-right movements and other sensitive issues often instrumentalized by Russian propaganda.

KIU-Research project ‘The Ukrainian far-right’s attitudes toward ethnic minorities: Between ideological prejudice and wartime pragmatism’ 

This research project examines the attitudes of Ukrainian far-right groups toward ethnic minorities amid Russia’s war against Ukraine. It explores the tension between deep-rooted ideological prejudices (e.g., antisemitism, anti-Romani bias, Hungarophobia, xenophobia toward recent migrants from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East) and wartime pragmatism, evident in strategic alliances against Russian aggression. This contradiction raises important questions about how war changes far-right beliefs. It may soften outward biases or worsen them through militarized nationalism. The project intentionally leaves out the examination of far-right views on the Russian ethnic minority since these attitudes are mainly influenced by political opposition to Russia rather than ethnic prejudice itself.

Research interests:

• Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration

• Russian FIMI campaigns and informational influences

• REMVE groups

Nadiia Bureiko is ‘Ukraine Abroad’ Program Director at the Foreign Policy Council ‘Ukrainian Prism’ (Kyiv). Most recently, she has been a research fellow at the IERES at George Washington University and the Institute for Advanced Study at the Central European University. She previously conducted postdoctoral research at the University of St. Gallen and at the New Europe College. Nadiia holds a PhD in Political Science and an MA in International Relations from Chernivtsi National University. She has published in academic journals including Europe-Asia Studies, Problems of Post-Communism, and Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, as well as in volumes published by Routledge and Manchester University Press.

KIU research project: ‘Whither (in)difference? Sense of belonging, attachments and loyalties among the Romanian minority in wartime Ukraine’

This project seeks to better understand attachments, loyalties and sense of belonging among the Romanian minority in Ukraine and to identify the factors that shape and influence them under wartime conditions. Building on prior research, the project argues that despite cultural differences and wartime disruptions, members of the Romanian minority maintain strong attachment and loyalty to the Ukrainian state. Theoretically, the study challenges the concept of ’national indifference’ by applying it to the case of Romanians residing in the Bukovyna borderland. Methodologically, the project employs a mixed-method research design and generates new empirical evidence with important implications for minority policy in Ukraine.

Research interests:

• national identity and minorities in Ukraine
• Ukraine’s public diplomacy and image formation
• European integration and EU’s neighbourhood policy

Yuliia Fetko, Research Institute of Fundamental and Applied Studies of European Territorial Cooperation; Associate Professor of the Department of International Law, Law Faculty, Uzhhorod National University, PhD (Law), Associate Professor.

Over the past five years, more than 55 scientific works have been published, including 5 co-authored monographs, 35 scientific articles in professional publications of Ukraine and foreign countries.
Involved as an expert in the field of cross-border cooperation in more than 15 national and international projects. Over the past 5 years, has been a speaker at international and national conferences. Participated in various discussion panels on territorial cooperation EU (cross-border, interregional and transnational cooperation). In 2023 participated as an expert on cross-border cooperation in congressional hearings on the development of cross-border cooperation and the discussion regarding the draft Law of Ukraine "On Cross-Border Cooperation", which was organized by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine. Based on the results of the congressional hearings, proposals were developed for the draft Law of Ukraine ‘On Cross-Border Cooperation’, which are oriented towards the norms of EU legislation in the field of territorial cooperation (cross border, interregional and transactional cooperation), which were submitted to the Scientific Advisory Council under the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

KIU research project: ‘Adaptation of the EU Cohesion Policy Acquis in Ukraine: Legal and Institutional Mechanisms’

Ukraine’s progress towards EU membership places the adaptation of the EU cohesion policy acquis at the centre of a broader integration agenda. While significant legislative and institutional steps have already been taken, the practical implementation of cohesion policy principles remains uneven, particularly in Ukraine’s border and multiethnic regions. These regions characterised by ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity and located along the EU’s external borders play a crucial role in shaping regional identity, social cohesion and cross-border cooperation. From a legal perspective, the adaptation of the EU cohesion policy acquis directly intersects with the protection of minority rights, the principle of non-discrimination and territorial cohesion as fundamental principles of EU law. This project examines how EU legal frameworks especially cohesion policy regulations, the principles of partnership and subsidiarity, and standards derived from EU fundamental rights law are reflected in Ukrainian legislation and institutional practice. Particular attention is paid to the legal position of national minorities in border regions and to the role of cohesion policy instruments in addressing structural inequalities, safeguarding cultural and linguistic diversity, and strengthening inclusive regional governance. The research focuses on the legal and institutional mechanisms of adapting the EU cohesion policy acquis in Ukraine, with a specific emphasis on border and multiethnic regions neighbouring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. It explores how key principles of EU cohesion policy partnership, subsidiarity, multi-level governance and territorial cooperation are integrated into Ukraine’s legal framework, especially in the context of war, large-scale displacement and post-war recovery. By conceptualising legal adaptation not merely as formal compliance with EU norms, but as a process of normative transformation, the project highlights how cohesion policy contributes to the (re)configuration of regional identities and governance structures.

Research interests:

• EU law
• legal regulation of european integration processes
• legal regulation of EU territorial cooperation (transnational cooperation, interregional cooperation and cross-border cooperation)
• legal regulation of relations between Ukraine and the EU

Mykola Homanyuk, sociologist and geographer, is an associate professor at Kherson State University. He defended his PhD thesis in sociology at V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. Mykola is the author of numerous articles on mental mapping and toponomy in Ukraine, ethnic studies, as well as memory and commemoration. Since 2022 he has done several studies about the consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine. He recently finished his book Monuments and Territory: War Memorials in Russian-Occupied Ukraine (with Mischa Gabowitsch) published in CEU Press. In 2025 Homanyuk was awarded the Journalism Excellence Award by the Council of Europe.

KIU research project: ‘Disappearing minority: Russians in Ukraine after 2022’

Until recently, Russians were the largest national minority in Ukraine. Sociological survays conducted after 2022 show that the number of Ukrainian citizens who identify themselves as Russians has decreased several times over. The aim of Mykola Homanyuk's research is to provide a comprehensive description of Russians in Ukraine as a national minority. The main research question is: what are the sources of identity (belonging) of present-day Russians in Ukraine, and how does the Russian-Ukrainian war affect the feeling of (non) belonging to this minority?

Research interests:

• memory studies
• Roma in Ukraine
• mental mapping

Oleksandr Zubariev is an Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology, Educational and Research Institute of Sociology and Media Communications at V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. He received his PhD in Sociology from the same university in 2016 with a dissertation on Eastern spiritual practices as a phenomenon of the lifeworld in a polycultural society. He has been working at V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University since 2014, first as a Senior Lecturer and later as an Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology. His academic work focuses on sociological theory, religion, identity, and the sociology of the body. He is the author of a monograph, textbooks, and numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals.

KIU research project: ‘Eastern-Origin Religious Minorities in Ukraine: Identity Transformations and Resilience Strategies During the War’

The project examines how members of Buddhist, Hindu, and other Eastern-origin religious communities in Ukraine respond to the challenges of Russia’s full-scale invasion. The project focuses on identity transformations, resilience strategies, and experiences of displacement among religious minorities. It is based on qualitative research, including narrative and semi-structured interviews with members of Eastern-origin religious communities in Ukraine.

Research interests:

• sociology of religion
• sociology of the body
• qualitative sociological methods