Brain drain in media and PR: one of Ukraine’s biggest challenges amid war, says expert
Source: Bukvy
The war in Ukraine has triggered a massive brain drain from the media and PR industries, posing one of the sector’s biggest challenges, according to media expert and executive of National Association of Media, Kateryna Myasnykova. The mobilization of employees in the sector, particularly technical personnel taking care of alert systems and transmitters, has led to a significant shortage of skilled workers.
At the same time, many communication professionals who left Ukraine at the start of the invasion have secured jobs in Western Europe, with little hope of their return anytime soon. This exodus is adding to the woes of the industry, as it continues to lose key talent crucial to its ongoing operations.
Adding to the strain, the advertising market has shrunk dramatically with media outlets relying heavily on ads for revenue among the hardest hit. The media crisis has already led to the closure of several online platforms and even major players in the television sector.
Myasnykova also stressed the critical need to preserve hyperlocal and local media, which serve as vital platforms addressing community issues. Their disappearance can leave a void, with few digital platforms left to cover local problems.
In 2025, the deadliest year yet for civilians, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations raised a record 105.9 billion hryvnias. It is more than the years 2022–2024 combined. According to the UN, humanitarian aid in Ukraine was delivered by more than 450 organisations, reaching five million people over the course of the year. Civic foundations hold licences to purchase lethal weapons, which is a function states have monopolised for centuries. These record sums were underwritten by international government grants, which means foreign states now channel billions directly through Ukrainian civic funds, bypassing inter-state channels. It is hard to imagine a stronger institutional trust in civil society.
During the GLOBSEC Defence Forum 2026 in Prague, representatives of “Steel Front”, an initiative by Rinat Akhmetov, discussed with NATO delegations, military officials, and representatives of the European defense industry the lessons learned from Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
After the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine witnessed an unprecedented wave of private support for the army. Citizens, big businesses, charitable foundations, and international philanthropists began financing the country’s defense alongside state assistance provided by international partners. Estimates of total private contributions range from tens to hundreds of billions of hryvnias. However, determining the exact amount remains difficult. In many cases, companies combine military aid, humanitarian programs, tax payments, social spending, and employee support in their reporting.
Rinat Akhmetov’s military initiative, “Steel Front”, has delivered a batch of drones worth UAH 214 million to the 1st “Azov” Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine. This shipment is part of the Metinvest Group’s ongoing support for the unit in 2025.
On October 6, the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court of Ukraine continued hearing case No. 990/80/25, in which the fifth President and leader of the party “European Solidarity”, Petro Poroshenko, seeks to have Presidential Decree No. 81/2025 from February 12, 2025 — enacting sanctions by the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) — declared illegal and annulled. The plaintiff claims the document was falsified and that the sanctions are a tool of political persecution of the opposition, contrary to international norms. Government representatives deny the allegations and insist their actions were lawful. Journalists of Bukvy were present at the hearing.