2025
A sort of round-up
This year has been unusual in that most of my work has not been intended for publication or public consumption. I therefore wanted to offer a brief round-up of the work that has been public, though the year’s unrelenting intensity means I have undoubtedly missed some items.
January
I began contributing fortnightly (Friday) segments on Ukraine: The Latest, focusing on Ukrainian resistance in the occupied territories.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVCYlsANGtNkzMeM9Fdmqzxr
Gave a talk at Ireland’s IEAA on ‘patriotic policy critics or nationalist opposition?’.
February
Spoke at YES conference on a panel with politicians and military leaders about how Ukraine should respond to U.S. changes of approach. I seemed to upset Boris Johnson but he got over it quite quickly when he realised I am indeed humourless.
Spoke at the Crimea Platform’s Day of Resistance to the Occupation of Crimea
March
Together with Lesia Orobets and military experts, I co-authored a SkyShield plan that was largely incorporated into the Coalition of the Willing’s post-ceasefire planning, though not its pre-ceasefire posture, where it would have been most valuable as a deterrent signal. Also, I am not sure what the Coalition of the Willing is actually willing to do before a ceasefire (which isn’t coming). In any case, I spent time co-authoring it.
Was one of the leaders of a ‘Women in Cyber’ networking programme organised by Germany at the CDTO.
April
I delivered a workshop based on a long report I authored analysing Russian security forces across seven border regions and how they are reallocated in response to different threat types. The work was funded by RSI.
I also completed a series of Spotlight papers addressing major foreign policy issues. These papers will be made available on the forthcoming webpage for my Ukraine and Russia programme at the Centre for Statecraft and National Security (CSNS), King’s College London.
May
I spoke at the Lennart Meri Conference on the need for diplomatic reciprocity toward Russia. If Russia exploits societal fissures in other states, it is reasonable to respond in kind. While the intervention was not public, it is fair to say that it was well received by Baltic and Ukrainian participants, as well as some European attendees, but less so by the Russian and American participants in the room.
June
Together with the excellent Chris Pool (who is also my PhD student, despite being far more accomplished than I am), I co-authored a CSNS brief on repairing Ukraine’s mobilisation system. At the time, the topic was highly sensitive and the brief was not made public. Circumstances have since changed: while there are now newer mobilisation papers that I cannot or will not share due to sensitivity, this earlier brief is no longer restricted.
July
I conducted a study for CSNS on Russian official discourse concerning the UK. It confirmed that Russian authorities hold the UK in deep hostility, a sentiment that is largely reciprocated in the UK. An exception is a subset of right-wing “patriots” whose patriotism does not extend to restraining their admiration for dictators—even when those dictators deploy Novichok on our streets or kill British citizens. And some odd types on the far-far-left.
August
I joined CSIS’s Russian Roulette podcast to discuss my visits to eastern Ukraine and research on the occupied territories.
https://www.csis.org/podcasts/russian-roulette/jade-mcglynn-update-ukraine
I also spoke at the Lutsk Frontier Festival. I was travelling directly from the east and had spent a significant amount of time with soldiers; while speaking Ukrainian, I accidentally referred to Russia as Русня. That is largely all I remember of the event, as it was interrupted by an air raid siren and we moved to the basement.
In addition, I took part in a Ukrainian-language discussion of Maryna Starodubska’s excellent How to Understand Ukrainians.
https://booklya.shop/products/book-how-to-understand-ukrainians-a-cross-cultural-view-marina
September
I spoke at ABCD in Tallinn and gave a talk in Paris at Coruscant on forms of entrapment in the occupied territories, arguing for a more nuanced, observational approach to understanding identity under conditions of total occupation.
Spoke at the YES 2025 annual meeting in Kyiv Is Russiа Winning or Collapsing?
October
Together with Ukrainian software developers at Trypillian, I began developing a programme to measure the impact of information campaigns on target audiences. As of December, it is in testing mode, with more to come.
November
I wrote my first piece for the relaunched Kennan Institute, where I am honoured to be a non-resident fellow. Inevitably, it focused on Kharkiv:
https://www.kennaninstitute.org/articles/memorial-of-glory
I delivered a keynote at a conference in Oslo on how Russian memory politics forms an integral part of the ideas and ideology driving Russia’s war in Ukraine.
I also spoke at Matt Hefler’s Intelligence Studies conference on sovereignty and civil–military intelligence in the occupied territories.
December
I published a paper for CSNS with Scott Martin on civilians detained by Russia in the occupied territories, arguing that illegal detentions and enforced disappearances constitute seven interlocking crimes against humanity.
I also authored three academic book chapters, largely focused on the occupied territories; co-authored an academic article under review; delivered a range of lectures; and briefed a wide array of senior government officials, diplomats, military personnel, and politicians across Europe and the United States. Alongside this, I spent inordinate amounts of time in my favourite cafés in Kharkiv developing plans that almost never came to pass but, on the rare ocassion they did, they achieved something I will feel proud of when I am old and finally get to catch up on sleep.
Next year, I will begin writing my next book in earnest, focusing on the occupied territories, and will continue travelling to and supporting Ukraine. This support will primarily take the form of developing and advancing ways to undermine Russia’s efforts to destroy Ukraine and to dismantle a European way of life that, while imperfect and in need of significant reform, remains vastly preferable to anything Russia—or the current US administration—would seek to impose. I also hope to organise my time more effectively in order to expand my public-facing work, particularly through my new Ukraine and Russia programme at CSNS, and in order to sleep.