University of Tartu Ukraine Centre - UTUC

University of Tartu Ukraine Centre - UTUC We support Ukraine’s reconstruction, development, and European integration

On 17–18 September, the TruthShield project (2025-1-EL01-KA220-HED-000361161) partners University of Tartu, Πανεπιστήμιο...
21/09/2026

On 17–18 September, the TruthShield project (2025-1-EL01-KA220-HED-000361161) partners University of Tartu, Πανεπιστήμιο Πελοποννήσου - University of the Peloponnese, Universidade Lusófona - Centro Universitário Lisboa, Hochschule Wismar and Український Центр Майбутнього/Ukrainian Center of the Future came together for a working meeting focused on the next key stages of the project.
During the meeting, we finalised the structure and content of the upcoming E-Handbook “Think Before You Click: Protecting Your Mind from Manipulation”, which will be released soon.
The partners also discussed the next educational outputs of TruthShield: the training programme for students and the training programme for university academic staff, which will be further developed after the handbook is completed.
These activities will build directly on the handbook’s approach, helping participants better understand how manipulation works, what psychological mechanisms and vulnerabilities it targets, how to recognise manipulative influence, and how to respond to it more consciously and effectively.
The handbook is almost here — and the next phase of TruthShield is already taking shape.

🇺🇸 Stanford meets Skytte!Last weekend, we had the pleasure of welcoming a group of Stanford University students to Skytt...
16/09/2026

🇺🇸 Stanford meets Skytte!

Last weekend, we had the pleasure of welcoming a group of Stanford University students to Skytte as part of their study trip across the Baltic states. 🇪🇪

💬 During their time in Tartu, the students joined Dmytro Khutkyy, Oleksii Kolesnykov, and Piret Ehin for discussions on Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine and what it means for Estonia – from public perceptions of the war to its impact on elections, party politics, ethnic relations and social cohesion.

Joining the students on their visit were Amir Weiner, Director of Stanford’s Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (CREEES), Liisi Esse, Curator for Estonian and Baltic Studies at Stanford Libraries, and Lisa Trei, Consultant at Vabamu museum.

🤝🌍 The visit was another chapter in the long-standing ties between Stanford and Skytte, which have grown over the years through research exchanges, visiting fellows and summer internships.

✨ Delighted to announce that the Svenska institutet has once again supported our joint Linköpings universitet-Universit...
15/09/2026

✨ Delighted to announce that the Svenska institutet has once again supported our joint Linköpings universitet-University of Tartu (Political Science - University of Tartu / University of Tartu Ukraine Centre - UTUC) programme STRIDE - Strengthening Trust, Resilience, and Institutions of Digital Democracy in Europe that aims to empower early- to mid-career professionals in public administration, policymaking, and civil society from Eastern Partnership countries to drive democratic change.

🎉 Congrats to Mariana Siri, Niklas Hamström, Elin Wihlborg Elg, Dmytro Khutkyy, Kerli Klock, Varje Kuut, Maili Vilson, and myself.

Stay tuned for further news 😉

How is Russia’s full-scale war reshaping political competition in Ukraine? What new patterns are emerging? And what migh...
27/08/2026

How is Russia’s full-scale war reshaping political competition in Ukraine? What new patterns are emerging? And what might Ukraine’s political arena look like during the first post-war elections?
These were the key questions addressed by UTUC Research Fellow Alex Kolesnikov at the 17th ESA Conference 2026 “Strengthening Democracies: Social Action, Solidarity, and Sustainable Futures”, held in Warsaw.
He presented the paper “Wartime Political Competition and Contours of a New Political Arena in Ukraine,” which examines how the war is transforming political competition and laying the foundations for a potentially significant reshaping of Ukraine’s political landscape.
The study also looks ahead: What could political competition look like in the first post-war elections? Which new political actors and cleavages might emerge? And how could these transformations affect Ukraine’s party system and the composition of the next parliament?
The paper is co-authored with Piret Ehin and Greg Nizhnikau and forms part of the research project “Transformation of Sociopolitical Cleavages in Ukrainian Society in the Context of the War,” conducted at the University of Tartu with support from the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Välisministeerium under targeted grant agreement No. 6.2-7/605.
Special thanks to research assistants Grace Tovkach and Daria Ahafonova for their tremendous work on the literature review and data collection!

Dmytro Khutkyy presented the paper "Unity and Division: Civic Identity, Cleavages, and Polarisation in Wartime Ukraine" ...
26/08/2026

Dmytro Khutkyy presented the paper "Unity and Division: Civic Identity, Cleavages, and Polarisation in Wartime Ukraine" at ESA 2026 in Warsaw. It is based on a systematic literature review and meta analysis of survey data of post-2022 sources about Ukraine. Both unifying and dividing patterns require further studies to anticipate the resulting trend.
The paper is co-authored with Olga Matveieva and Vasil Navumau. The research has been performed together with collaborators Grace Tovkach and Daria Ahafonova, inspired by Alex Kolesnikov, and led by project PI Piret Ehin
The project has been funded by the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Välisministeerium.

A summary of the 03-09.08.2026 international relations updates by the security expert Rainer Saks:03.08.2026The Russian ...
09/08/2026

A summary of the 03-09.08.2026 international relations updates by the security expert Rainer Saks:

03.08.2026

The Russian Ministry of Defence reported that its air defences had destroyed 1,185 Ukrainian long-range drones in a single day. If this claim is true, it would mean the Russian army has never launched so many long-range drones in a single day.

04.08.2026

President Zelensky continues to speak optimistically about progress in military cooperation with the United States. According to him, new agreements on launching missile-related cooperation are being prepared, following agreements in principle reached during his latest visit.

05.08.2026

Russia has managed to improve petrol supply to filling stations. Although the situation varies between regions, sales restrictions have not yet been lifted. In other words, Russia’s motor-fuel market remains highly vulnerable.

Several media outlets published headlines claiming that the Russian army was planning a new incursion from the north into Chernihiv Oblast. The headlines were based on information provided by Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service.

06.08.2026

The President of Ukraine announced that the objective of the Ukrainian military is to destroy the Russian army’s Iskander ballistic missile launchers. The Ukrainian military has been trying to achieve this objective since the beginning of the war, and Iskander missile launchers have been hit at several locations, including in occupied Crimea.

08.08.2026

The U.S. Senate gave final approval to the Russia and Iran sanctions bill initiated by Lindsey Graham and sent it to the House of Representatives for further consideration. Since the sanctions would ultimately enter into force at the discretion of the U.S. president, this provides an opportunity to exert negotiating pressure on both Russia and Iran.

Although the U.S. president has indicated he intends to sign the bill, its swift passage through the House of Representatives is not guaranteed, and President Trump’s final position is not entirely clear.

09.08.2026

While visiting Serbia, the Ukrainian president told the press that the United States would begin supplying Ukraine with air-defence missiles each month. He did not specify which types of missiles or the quantities involved, but noted briefly that they would certainly not be sufficient to repel Russian attacks.

According to President Zelensky, Ukrainian-produced ballistic missiles are expected to be used against Russian military targets as early as this autumn. In the president’s assessment, the Ukrainian missile and drone manufacturer FirePoint is very close to achieving this capability.

A summary of the 06-12.07.2026 international relations updates by the security expert Rainer Saks:06.07.2026The Russian ...
13/07/2026

A summary of the 06-12.07.2026 international relations updates by the security expert Rainer Saks:

06.07.2026

The Russian army carried out a large-scale attack using ballistic and cruise missiles on Kyiv. As the NATO summit in Ankara is about to begin, with assistance to Ukraine also on the agenda, the attack appears to have been timed with this event in mind. The Ukrainian president is also attending the NATO summit as a guest.

07.07.2026

Ukrainian officials reported that the Ukrainian army has run out of PAC-3 missiles, which enable Patriot systems to intercept Russian ballistic missiles. From the Russian army’s perspective, this is an opportunity it will certainly try to exploit to the fullest.

08.07.2026

At the NATO summit in Ankara, several decisions were made with the participation of the President of Ukraine to support the development of Ukraine’s defence industry. No major political statements have been made so far. Iran’s new military attacks, to which the United States responded forcefully, will certainly dilute the summit’s messages.

The petrol crisis in Russia continues. The government is trying to build a logistics system under the new circumstances, and it is partly able to deliver petrol and diesel by tanker trucks. However, sales restrictions remain in force, which also keeps the longer queues in place.

09.07.2026

After the Iranian attacks, the U.S. president announced that the ceasefire had ended and that attacks on Iran would resume. In addition, the naval blockade of Iranian ports is expected to resume.

As part of the NATO summit, a bilateral meeting also took place between the U.S. president and the Ukrainian president. During the meeting, President Trump stated that Ukraine would receive a license to produce missiles for Patriot air defence systems, while the U.S. would begin purchasing drones from Ukraine.

10.07.2026

Ukrainian strikes have taken up to 40% of Russia's oil-refining capacity out of operation. Very long queues at petrol stations have become common, while fuel sales restrictions have been introduced in most Russian regions. As Ukrainian attacks have also seriously disrupted Russian logistics, the problems caused by shortages in motor-fuel production have been significantly exacerbated.

In this timely episode of the Ukraine Podcast UTUC, Dmytro Khutkyy speaks with Lesia Ogryzko, Co-founder and Director of...
01/07/2026

In this timely episode of the Ukraine Podcast UTUC, Dmytro Khutkyy speaks with Lesia Ogryzko, Co-founder and Director of the Sahaidachnyi Security Center, about Ukraine’s indispensable role in Europe’s security. We discuss how Russia’s war extends beyond the battlefield through hybrid threats, sabotage, cyber-attacks, and disinformation; what Baltic, Nordic, and other European countries can learn from Ukraine’s battlefield experience; and why resilience, rapid defence innovation, mass mobilisation, and a whole-of-society approach are central to democratic survival. The conversation also considers what Ukraine’s partners must do to help secure a Ukrainian victory and build a more credible European defence architecture. Above all, Lesia Ogryzko argues that Europe must replace complacency with strategic preparation and recognise Ukraine as both a frontline defender and a source of practical security expertise.
The Spotify link is in comments below.

How does war reshape a nation’s civic identity? And what happens to social and political divisions in times of existenti...
24/06/2026

How does war reshape a nation’s civic identity? And what happens to social and political divisions in times of existential crisis?

These were among the key questions explored by UTUC Research Fellow Alex Kolesnikov at the IPSA Research Committees Colloquium “Minorities under Siege? Plural Societies Facing Plural Challenges” in Bolzano/Bozen, Italy.

He presented the paper “Forged by War: The Dynamics of Civic Identity and Sociopolitical Cleavages in Ukraine,” which examines how Russia’s war against Ukraine is transforming civic identity and reshaping patterns of social cohesion and division. The research explores evolving sociopolitical cleavages and their potential implications for Ukraine’s future political landscape, while contributing to a broader understanding of how wars and crises transform plural societies.

The paper was co-authored with Dmytro Khutkyy, Olga Matveieva, and Vasil Navumau and forms part of the research project “Transformation of Sociopolitical Cleavages in Ukrainian Society in the Context of the War,” conducted at the University of Tartu with support from the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Välisministeerium under targeted grant agreement No. 6.2-7/605.

Many thanks also to Grace Tovkach and Daria Ahafonova for the insane work with data collection!

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