Kateryna Mykhalko resigns as head of the Technological Forces of Ukraine association
7 February 17:09
Kateryna Mykhalko is stepping down as executive director of the Technological Forces of Ukraine public association, which brings together about a hundred companies in the defense industry.
She announced this in a post on her Facebook page, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to Mykhalko, she headed the association for almost three years and noted that during this time, the association consolidated about 100 drone companies and implemented dozens of legislative and international projects.
Mykhalko explained that she decided to leave her position to give the organization the opportunity to “grow into a more sustainable institution.” She added that she will remain involved in the association’s work and will support the team and the new leader.
Mykhalko said that the next stage of her career would be as CEO of a European organization that will work on the systematic integration of robotic weapons and drones into the European Union’s security architecture. She noted that she had received trust and invitations from Quantum Systems, Stark, and other companies in the new defense sector.
In her post, Mykhalko also drew attention to the increasing flight range of Russian strike drones, which, according to her, poses a direct threat to most EU countries and changes the perception of war as a local conflict. She stressed that Ukraine could become a partner of the EU in regional security issues thanks to its own technological experience of war.
Mykhalko promised to provide more details about her future activities during the Munich Security Conference.
Kateryna Mykhalko: what is known about her
Kateryna Mykhalko was born on June 1, 2001 in Kyiv. She graduated from the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv with a degree in public administration and civil service.
Before being appointed as the executive director of the public union “Technological Forces of Ukraine”, Kateryna Mykhalko was a co-founder of Nuka, a Ukrainian startup for the production of “eternal stationery”, which raised hundreds of thousands of dollars through crowdfunding. However, her exit from the project in 2019 was accompanied by a conflict with her partner Nikita Vladykin, who was also her ex-boyfriend. According to Mykhalko, after their relationship broke up, she began to be removed from decision-making and was asked to leave the office. She retained her share in the company, but refused to sell her share without financial statements and legal guarantees.
Since August 2023, Mykhalko has held the position of Executive Director of the Technological Forces of Ukraine, an association of leading private defense enterprises that have been providing defenders with high military technologies since 2014.
