FORWARD with Valeriya Ionan

In this new episode with Acting Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Olexander Bornyakov, we dive into:How Ukraine is moving from “country in a smartphone” to an agentic state, where government services are powered by AI agents and delivered through the DIIA ecosystem. Why Ukraine can become one of the first countries to build AI‑driven public services at scale and what DIIA AI will actually look like for citizens and businesses.Tech sovereignty: how Ukraine plans to secure critical technologies, build its own AI Factory and LLM and still stay open for global partnerships and big tech. DIIA City and DIIA City Invest: creating a legal and tax environment where international funds and founders can comfortably build and invest in Ukraine, even during the war.What foreign investors should realistically know about Ukraine right now – the risks, the opportunities, and why honesty and trust matter more than any slide deck.Big trends for the next five years: humanoid robotics, autonomous defense systems, longevity and how AI and crypto may converge into a new financial system. If you are a policymaker, tech founder, investor, or anyone curious about how a wartime country can still lead in digital transformation, this episode is a masterclass in pragmatic vision, courage, and long‑term thinking. 🎥 Watch this episode on YouTube.

In this episode, I speak with Taras Ostapchuk, founder of Ratel, one of the largest UGV (unmanned ground vehicle) producers in Ukraine. What started as a response to real battlefield needs has rapidly scaled into a company producing up to 200 robots per month from combat systems to logistics and evacuation platforms. These robots are used every day on the battlefield, replacing soldiers in dangerous missions, delivering supplies, deploying mines and evacuating the wounded. But this story is bigger than defense. Ukraine is building a new model of innovation - fast, collaborative, and battle-tested. The UGV ecosystem is scaling in real time. We discuss: how war accelerates innovation cycles, why Ukrainian solutions are up to 10x more cost-effective, how UGVs are evolving into dual-use technologies (from firefighting to rescue missions), and why international partnerships are critical to scaling production. If you are interested in partnerships, investments, or collaboration - this is the moment to engage. 🎥 Watch this episode on YouTube.

What is an agentic state and why is it a bigger shift for governments than the last 20 years of digital transformation? In this episode, Luukas Ilves, former CIO of Estonia and advisor to Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation breaks down what comes next. We explore how citizen agents could manage complex life events across public services, how task agents can transform procurement and fight corruption, and why countries like Estonia and Ukraine are positioning themselves to become the first agentic states. 🎥 Watch this episode on YouTube.

Oksana Markarova, former Finance Minister, architect of UkraineInvest and Ukrainian Startup Fund, former Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States of America, now Presidential Advisor on Reconstruction and Investments. This episode centers on Nove Misto, her new project to build Ukraine's first city from scratch: 100,000 residents, private funding model, circular design, tech-first infrastructure and country-specific sectors for international partners. A pilot for reconstruction. A pilot for European integration. We also discuss why investors waiting for the war to end are already late, which sectors offer serious opportunity now and how to engage with Ukraine's institutional landscape as a foreign investor. FORWARD with Valeriya Ionan is a strategic podcast for institutional investors, corporate decision-makers and policy leaders evaluating Ukraine as a serious partnership opportunity. 🎥 Watch this episode on YouTube.

In this episode, we dive into “wild freedom”, venture as adventure, Ukraine as “the real America in the center of Europe”, and why Kyiv today feels like New York in the late ’80s. If you are an investor, founder, policymaker or work with digital transformation and innovations, this conversation will challenge how you think about risk, the state, marketing and branding and the future of Ukraine.Andriy Fedoriv, is a leading Ukrainian marketer, serial entrepreneur and VC investor, founder and CEO of Fedoriv Group and Fedoriv Agency, an award‑winning international marketing and innovation ecosystem working with top Ukrainian and global brands and backing a new generation of tech founders. 🎥 Watch this episode on YouTube.

In this episode of FORWARD with Valeriya Ionan, American entrepreneur and investor Dave Morgan shares why, after successful adtech exits in the United States, he chose to open core operational teams in Ukraine during wartime and invest directly into Ukrainian defense tech startups. His experience challenges common assumptions: Ukraine’s innovation cycles move faster under pressure, local teams operate with unusual ownership and resilience, and technologies tested in real conflict often outperform those designed in comfort. The gap, he argues, is not information but proximity, most Western capital evaluates Ukraine without ever experiencing it. This conversation is about how risk is perceived, how opportunity is missed and why commitment requires presence. 🎥 Watch this episode on YouTube.