Jaroslava Barbieri

Research Fellow, Ukraine Forum, Russia and Eurasia Programme

Biography

Jaroslava Barbieri is a Research Fellow at the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House.

Her research interests include Ukrainian politics and society, Russian foreign policy, EU security and enlargement, disinformation and cognitive defence. Her media commentary has appeared in British and international media.

Between March 2022 and May 2025, she was a Project Manager and Strategist at Zinc Network, an international development and strategic communications agency. Previously, she was a researcher for the Arena programme, SNF Agora Institute, Johns Hopkins University. Over the years, she has contributed to research projects on Ukraine supported by the UK government, USAID and the European Commission.

In June 2025 Jaroslava will complete her doctoral degree at the University of Birmingham. Her thesis examines the evolution of Russia’s occupation policies in Ukraine since 2014, highlighting the existence of previously overlooked parallels with policies implemented in Transnistria. She has an MPhil degree from the University of Oxford.

Past experience

June 2025–presentResearch Fellow, Ukraine Forum, Chatham House
March 2024–May 2025Strategist, Zinc Network
January–June 2024Teaching Fellow, University of Birmingham
March 2022–February 2024Project Manager, Zinc Network
June 2020–February 2022Researcher, Arena Research Initiative, SNF Agora Institute, Johns Hopkins University