I can’t really believe that my Monitor is two years old. It was launched in January 2024, while I was still living in Türkiye. It was on LinkedIn and had a totally different format. At the end of 2024—which was a very complicated year for me—I was considering entirely stopping my reporting.
But instead, I decided to double down. In 2025, I moved the Monitor to Substack, added a section on drones, and another on Russia. And 2025 became a completely different year for me.
In this article, I want to summarise some of the most memorable and important moments for Ukraine’s Arms Monitor—and for myself—over the past year.
The goals of Ukraine’s Arms Monitor in 2025
Through my digest, I pursue three main goals that developed organically over time:
1. Observing defence innovation in Ukraine and informing the global audience
I aim to document defence innovation in Ukraine and explain what is happening on the ground, bringing a Ukrainian perspective to international audiences. Most of my sources are Ukrainian, including interviews published in Ukrainian media, surveys, analytical pieces, and op-eds. I also conduct my own interviews with local experts and defence industry professionals. This brings me to my second point.
2. Supporting Ukraine’s defence capabilities
In 2025, I began publishing profile articles on successful Ukrainian producers, as well as on government initiatives such as Brave1. Ukraine has a lot to teach the world, and I want to highlight this potential. Ukraine openly shares valuable data and is highly receptive to cooperation with those who want to help it win the war. I hope my work has facilitated some of those connections.
3. Helping my friends in Ukraine’s Armed Forces
Just reporting is not enough for me. Especially knowing what my friends are going through.
I am not part of any charity, but my experience shows that even one person can make an impact—or at least try to.
In 2025, I launched three fundraising campaigns and gathered money for three Mavic reconnaissance drones for my close university friend. These are unarmed commercial drones.
Honestly, this was a personal dream—to get him a drone. For years, I donated privately in small amounts. In 2025, Ukraine’s Arms Monitor made that dream a reality thanks to the support of my subscribers and followers on Substack and LinkedIn. The third fundraiser lasted only one week, and by the New Year, I had purchased and delivered the third Mavic drone. This experience showed me that the Monitor has a real, physical impact.
For the most part, no one informs me whether my reporting has led to any deals or other concrete outcomes. But through these fundraisers, I know that together we can achieve something tangible.
Jobs
Ukraine’s Arms Monitor is not an organisation; it’s my private initiative, and I do not receive funding or sponsorship from anyone. Therefore, throughout this time I’ve had to combine it with employment—and sometimes with more than one job at once.
When I started the Monitor, I hoped it would help me find a job. In 2024, I failed. In 2025, jobs poured in, which was a very nice feeling, but also overwhelming.
For over half a year, I was combining two jobs: a full-time role and remote freelancing. And, of course, I had the Monitor—with two, and sometimes three, publications a week.
Those were tough six months. Sometimes, very early calls with the team in London. Then a full day of work in Toronto. Then the Monitor.
By September, I had secured another job—a one-year postdoctoral fellowship in defence innovation at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute/COVE (article about my fellowship). I’m incredibly lucky to have it.
I continue producing Ukraine’s Arms Monitor in my personal capacity as an independent researcher.
Connections
Wow—where to start. Thanks to the Monitor, I keep meeting so many amazing people. Some are… less amazing. Someone once messaged me on LinkedIn asking for assistance with recruiting mercenaries for Wagner. There’s always someone trying to sell something to me, or with my help.
But most are great.
A separate cohort is the Ukrainian defense industry and the numerous associations related to it. I’ve repeatedly stated in my articles that I do not receive payment from producers, investors, or any other companies or individuals. If you see someone’s name, it’s because I find their work important—not because I was paid to write about them. I’ve been approached many times with offers of cooperation, but my only condition is that they be relevant to Ukraine. If what they do matters to Ukraine, I’ll write about them for free.
The Monitor's only source of funding is paid subscriptions, and I’m deeply grateful to everyone who supports me this way.
The Monitor became a Substack bestseller within 10 months on the platform, which is a huge recognition of my work. It helps me fund important things: my stay in Geneva, travel to Ukraine, books and subscriptions, and donations to Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
Podcasts and speaking engagements
I started being invited to comment much more often—both in print and live. The Economist, Forbes, Le Monde, Al Jazeera, Channel 4, BBC.
At the beginning, I was so nervous about BBC radio that I spent hours preparing and stressing. Somehow, I managed to turn them down three times. I still regret it, because apparently, they removed me from their list of experts.
Now I feel much more confident and don’t spend hours preparing. Some of my favourite podcasts were with Brian Crombie in Canada and Arthur Snell in the UK.
Separately, thanks to an interview on the Ukrainian diaspora channel Forum TV, conducted in Ukrainian, my parents finally learned what I actually do. I think they were a bit shocked.
Community
The best part about being on Substack is that it allows me to be myself and follow my creative direction. I love my country. I want to help it. I like defence. I like talking to people and gathering insights. And I like writing.
On Substack, I’ve unexpectedly built a small community of people who appreciate these things—and, most importantly, who want Ukraine to prevail. When I had immigration issues in Canada and wasn’t sure I’d be able to travel to the UN, many of you reposted my notes and wrote to me directly with advice and words of support.
While my newsletter focuses on military issues, in Substack Notes, I write about everything else - stories, notes from my travels, conversations with my parents about the war, photos and videos, and other news beyond military topics.
My favourite moments of the year
There are so many. I guess number one was shopping in Toronto, picking up The Economist, and seeing my name in it. That felt great—and still does.
Second—on the same level—was my trip to the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), where I delivered a presentation. The best part was meeting in person people in the arms control community, whose work I’ve been following for years.
Since I work online from Toronto, I rarely get to meet European colleagues in person. That kind of connection is on a completely different level.
After 1.5 years in Canada and long immigration delays, I finally managed to go to Ukraine for a visit. That alone was huge. As I’m writing this from Ukraine, the weather is dark and gloomy and not ideal for travelling — but every single day I feel incredibly lucky to be back home.
I know that I am able to visit my home because someone is staying in trenches, abandoned houses, and basements. In dirt and cold. Under drones and artillery fire.
The Monitor in my life
It still feels surreal to see or hear the Monitor’s name mentioned in publications or at events. Sometimes it feels like it’s already living a life of its own.
Writing Ukraine’s Arms Monitor has helped me cope with many challenges: immigration stress, unemployment, and the feeling of helplessness because of the war. The desire to keep Ukraine close. To help my friends who are serving. To do something. It is also about having a small sense of control over a situation that I can’t control.
A large part of my work focuses on Russian aggression. It may seem like we already know everything about Russian Shaheds and missiles—but we don’t. Not nearly enough.
Russia is a huge war machine with an imperial mindset and deep contempt for others—and often for its own people. I try to show through my reporting what they keep doing: producing weapons, stockpiling them, recruiting globally, and spreading violence far beyond Ukraine.
Letting Russia do what it does shows others that force prevails over the rule of law. It also increases the appeal of nuclear weapons, as Ukraine—having once relinquished them and relied on international frameworks—now finds itself in this difficult position.
Is this the world we want to live in?
No one is safe when Russia is empowered. Unfortunately, in 2025, it was empowered at an entirely new level.
“We can tell them, but they won’t hear us,” wrote my friend in the Armed Forces.
“You’re right. But my duty is to keep telling,” I replied.
Whoever has ears, let them hear.
I started thinking about this post in Toronto. Wrote part of it in Geneva. Continued in Warsaw. And now I’m publishing it from my hometown in Ukraine. As I move closer to the front lines, I see how people and communities change. When I was here 1.5 years ago, it was different. Now Shaheds and missiles are flying over my parents’ house every night. We have electricity for about six hours a day, at best. No one in Ukraine deserves to live through that.
Thank you for reading this far. Thank you for choosing Ukraine’s Arms Monitor. And thank you for standing with Ukraine.
I wish you all a happy and prosperous 2026!
Read some of my posts:
Among my 157 articles published in 2025, the most popular were:
Also, I’ve organized my previous articles into themed lists:
Excellent work Olena 🙂👍. Quite a year!
Congratulations, just wish I had found your work sooner👍🏽.