Orysia Lutsevych

Biography

Orysia Lutsevych OBE is deputy director of the Russia and Eurasia Programme and head of the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House.

Orysia’s research focuses on social change, the role of civil society in democratic transition in Eastern Europe and, most recently, democratic resilience to foreign encroachment. She is the author of several Chatham House research publications, including Resilient Ukraine: Safeguarding Society from Russian Aggression (with Mathieu Boulègue, 2020). Her media work includes contributions for the BBC, CNN, the Guardian, The Times, the Financial Times and the New York Times.

Prior to joining Chatham House as the institute’s first Academy Robert Bosch fellow, Orysia led the start-up of Europe House Georgia and was executive director of the Open Ukraine Foundation.

She has master’s degrees in international relations from Lviv State University, and in public administration from the University of Missouri.

Past experience

2014	Research Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House
2012	Academy Robert Bosch Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House
2012	Independent consultant
2009-2011	Head of Development, Europe House Georgia
2007-2009	Executive Director, Open Ukraine Foundation
2005-2007	Deputy Director, PAUCI Foundation

Latest content

View all content

The debate about Ukraine’s use of US long-range missiles illustrates the broader strategic divide between Washington and Kyiv. Despite his efforts, Zelenskyy’s US visit did not help narrow this gap.

Open access

The head of Chatham House’s Ukraine Forum reveals how her fellow Ukrainians are preparing for winter, why she chose a career in international relations and why her son would love to live in Kyiv.

While all eyes are on the battlefield, without recovery finance and key domestic reforms, Ukrainian resilience is at risk.

In the news

Ukraine has been preparing for the possibility that US support will taper off, according to Orysia Lutsevych.

“People switched to Ukrainian because they believe it’s important,” Orysia Lutsevych, the head of the Ukraine Forum at the think tank Chatham House, told ABC News. “They want to break away from anything that has to do with this Russian world. Be it language, be it culture, be it even religious calendar.”

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy holds a press conference at a metro station in Kyiv.

In the real world, he campaigned on two main issues: anti-corruption and ending the war, Orysia Lutsevych, the head of Ukraine Forum at Chatham House, tells Sky News.

High-profile resignations highlight the nation’s struggle to prove to the world it is not, as Russia tries to suggest, a corrupt basket case

But was it — is it — only Russians who were guilty of misunderstanding Ukraine, the largest nation in Europe?

Assumptions have been dramatically overturned. To really help Ukraine, a clearer picture of the war’s dynamic is vital.

Any ending must be decisive – a long-term simmering conflict would be the same as a defeat for the Ukrainian people.

According to Orysia Lutsevych, “Putin weaponized history by giving it a function.” As far as the Russian president is concerned, “history is the fortune teller of the future.”

“He is quite empathetic as a person. He finds good connections with people,” said Orysia Lutsevych, a research fellow at the London think tank Chatham House. “That’s why he’s successful in politics.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky, a former actor, has surrounded himself with advisers from his old comedy troupe. No kidding.

Petro O. Poroshenko, a former president, returned to Kyiv on Monday facing possible arrest, adding internal political turmoil to a threat of Russian invasion.

Military advantage is overwhelming but full invasion and occupation are different matter.

Russian president’s attention-seeking diplomatic demands speak to long-held grievances.

A full-scale attack seems improbable – but the troop buildup is enough to have NATO warn of sanctions.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the stranding of crowds of migrants on the Belarus-Poland border was an attempt to “distract” from Russia’s troops near Ukraine.

Western commitments to Ukraine remain ambiguous and unproved.