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Nataliya Bugayova

Nataliya Bugayova is a non-resident National Security Research Fellow at ISW. She led the Institute for the Study of War’s (ISW) Russia and Ukraine research team from 2019-2020 and has been ISW’s Russia Research Fellow since 2018. Her work focuses on the Kremlin’s foreign policy decision-making, information operations, and ongoing global campaigns - including in the former Soviet Union and Africa.
She is the author of “How We Got Here with Russia: The Kremlin’s Worldview” and "Putin's Offset: The Kremlin's Geopolitical Adaptations Since 2014." Her written work and interviews have been featured in media outlets including The Hill, BBC, VOA, and others. As ISW’s Development Director from 2016-2019, she also led growth efforts and planning for major events, including the ISW Security Conference.
Nataliya currently serves as Director of Intelligence at Tecsonomy, a new tech-enabled intelligence firm specializing in supply chain analysis. Prior to ISW, she was the Chief Executive Officer of the Kyiv Post, Ukraine’s independent English-language publication. She also served as Chief of Staff and Adviser on cooperation with international financial institutions to former Ukrainian Economy Minister Pavlo Sheremeta, who was appointed after the pro-democracy Euromaidan Revolution in February 2014.
She holds a Master's in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where she was a student fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
Select Publications:
Russia in Review: Military Exercises as Geopolitical Tools
The Kremlin's Campaign in Africa: Assessment Update (August 2019)
Confronting the Russian Challenge: A New Approach for the U.S.
Ukraine's New President: The Stakes for Ukraine and the West
Putin Pressured by Global Crises, Yet Finds Ways to Exploit Them (external link: The Hill)
How We Got Here With Russia: The Kremlin's Worldview