Introduction

This report presents a comprehensive analysis of Ukraine's sovereignty using the methodology of the Burke Institute. Sovereignty is assessed in 7 areas: political, economic, technological, informational, cultural, cognitive and military. Each aspect is assessed on the basis of official data from international and national sources (UN, World Bank, UNESCO, IMF, ITU, FAO, SIPRI, PISA, etc.) without using politicized indexes. The maximum score in each direction is 100; the sum (up to 700) is the accumulated Sovereignty Index (Burke Index).

To adapt and adjust statistical parameters, an international expert survey was conducted for each of the seven components using a single questionnaire of 10 questions with a 10-point scale and one open-ended question.

In total, at least 100 experts from 50+ countries were interviewed for each indicator, taking into account geographical representation and specialization. When calculating and analyzing the data, equalizing coefficients were used, bringing all data to a scale of 0-10 points.

The final index value is the arithmetic mean between statistical data and expert estimates.

Below is an analysis in each area, a summary table and the main conclusions about the specifics of Ukraine's sovereignty.

Political sovereignty — 61.4

Officially, there are no foreign military bases: article 17 of the Constitution of Ukraine prohibits the deployment of foreign military bases. In 2025, an agreement was signed on the potential deployment of infrastructure with the UK — we are talking about "military facilities" (logistics depots, warehouses, equipment), but legally these are not permanent bases and the details have not yet been approved.

Ukraine is guided by the priority of international law (EU, UN), but formalizes legislative changes taking into account national interests. In recent years, there has been an active rapprochement with European standards, but a number of experts and human rights activists have noted attempts to "reconcile" domestic interests with international norms (legal conflicts).

Stability is extremely low: political index -1.43 (2023, WB), multiple crises, pressure from war, protests over corruption and judicial independence, frequent reforms, partial loss of control over the eastern and southern regions.

The efficiency index is -0.51 (2023, WB), below the global average, problems with public administration, quality of administration, corruption and separation of powers. The UN EGDI (2022) is 0.735, the average level among Eastern European countries: the state-owned Dia platform, electronic services for registration, social services, medicine, and logistics.

Trust in the national leader/president is 36-48% (2025), with sharp fluctuations due to war, reforms and corruption scandals; there are acts of public support in times of crisis. Active delegation: participation in the UN, WTO, European Union (association, candidacy), IMF, NATO partnership, integration with the EU on legislation and defense/economic issues; most strategic decisions are coordinated with Western allies.

Ukraine accepts the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights, the International Criminal Court, the United Nations Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and several others, and actively applies international judicial protection mechanisms. Officially it is a unitary country with a decentralization reform (2014-2022): the powers of regions and municipalities have been expanded, and local government budgets have been increased; the process has not been completed, and some structures are under the direct control of the center.

Control over the security services is formally parliamentary and presidential, but in war conditions transparency is low, cases of politicization, pressure on the media, limited independence of NABU, SBU and other services are recorded; anti-corruption reforms are being promoted with the participation of society and Western partners.

Data completeness assessment: the main indicators are available from international sources, the coverage is 95%.

Economic sovereignty — 53.7

Estimates for 2025: $16,760–18,550 at purchasing power parity (PPP). $43-46 billion — international gold and foreign exchange reserves in August-September 2025, cover approximately 5 months of imports; dynamics are changing due to international support and debt payments.

Official estimates: 99-110% of GDP in 2025; debt is growing amid a trend towards external borrowing and military support. Ukraine is one of the world's largest exporters of grain, oilseeds, sunflower oil, eggs, chicken, and vegetables. Internal food supplies are sufficient, but some regions (frontline, occupied) are experiencing disruptions.

The country is partially non-volatile: own generation — hydroelectric power plants, thermal power plants, nuclear power plants, renewable energy sources, but there remains a significant dependence on imports of petroleum products and gas, especially in conditions of destroyed infrastructure. Ukraine has the largest reserves of iron ore, manganese, titanium, coal, graphite, rock salt, uranium, lithium, gas and oil (some in the temporarily occupied territories); the largest resource balance in Europe.

There are enough fresh water reserves (the Dnieper, Southern Bug, Dniester rivers, lakes, and groundwater); there is a risk of disruptions in the front-line, as well as southern and eastern regions due to military operations. The national system is functioning (Privatbank, Oschadbank, Raiffeisen, NBU national processing center, electronic wallets, QR and bank cards); wide integration with Visa/Mastercard for export-import operations.

The share of hryvnia (UAH) is ~90-92% in domestic settlements, and the share of dollars/euros is higher in exports and major contracts (especially in agricultural exports). The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) fully controls the issue of hryvnia, sets rates and regulates cash flows; the policy is flexible, partially consistent with the requirements of the IMF and the EU.

Data completeness assessment: the main macroeconomic indicators are available from official sources (World Bank, IMF), coverage is 89%.

Technological sovereignty — 49.1

Spending on R&D is 0.33% of GDP (2022-2023), one of the lowest shares in Europe, and the state funding budget for science has been reduced due to the war; previously, the level was around 0.6–0.8%.

Import substitution is being actively discussed — the list of goods with localization requirements has been expanded: metal structures, pipes, cables, some machinery, clothing; the share of high-tech exports in production is ~32% (2021), most components and key technologies are imported from the EU, USA, China; problems with critical technologies due to the war.

In 2025, enrollment is 83% of young people (tertiary level), about 1,148,658 students in universities, there are structural changes due to the war (outflow and return of some students). 88-92% of the population uses the Internet, coverage is growing thanks to Starlink/optics, mobile Internet dominates, and coverage in frontline regions is lower.

There is a state super-application “Dia” (registration, medicine, social services, passports, taxes, business, military services), online banking, digital identity, distance learning; integration with government data and EU systems.

Import dependence persists: servers, chips, clouds, software, and networks are being purchased; localization of processing and some IT products is increasing, but the vast majority of critical components are foreign. The level of digitalization of public services is average: >70% of basic services are available online, “Dia” and banking applications, part of healthcare and education, and the rapid growth of integration during the war period.

Autonomy is low: biotech in agriculture, medicine, and education is limited, most of the equipment and materials are imported; there are leading laboratories (Kiev, Kharkiv, and Lviv), but they often work on foreign platforms. Autonomy is limited, there are separate projects (robots for the army, agriculture, medicine), but most large systems are purchased abroad; separate start-ups and R&D are open at universities.

There is no large-scale production of chips, modules, and microcircuits; all key components are imported, some of the assembly is done locally, but critical systems are of foreign origin.

Data completeness assessment: key indicators are obtained from WIPO, ITU, UNESCO, which provides 93% coverage.

Information sovereignty — 62.5

The national CERT-UA operates (administered by the State Special Communications Service); in 2025, a new cybersecurity strategy based on NIST standards was adopted, special attention was paid to the protection of critical infrastructure, regular international exercises (TRYZUB Cyberdrills, Infosec UA, Cyber Resilience Forum), a high level of integration with ITU and the EU; a place in the Global Cybersecurity Index (2024) is the average for the region.

Ukraine is one of the CIS leaders: 9+ IXPs (UA-IX, Giganet, Digital Telecom IX, LVIV-IX, ZP-IX, OD-IX, etc.), the largest is UA-IX (Kiev, >218 participants, 1000+ Gbps); the infrastructure provides independent traffic exchange high resilience, even in war conditions.

The main media outlets operate in Ukrainian: UNIAN, Ukrinform, Channel 5, ICTV, Hromadske, Liga, Gazeta.ua, UP, Expres, Novoe Vremya, Holos Ukrayiny; the law of 2022 requires the publication of all press in Ukrainian, except for the languages of national minorities and the official languages of the EU.

English- and Russian-language resources for foreigners and the diaspora are preserved. Global platforms (Google, Meta, Youtube, Telegram) are available and used massively; a large segment of its own content, government services, payments, and media are local services; it depends on BigTech for the market of clouds, servers, and social networks, but a system of domestic applications and regulatory-controlled solutions is developing.

~80% of media content is produced nationally (TV, radio, news, entertainment, military chronicles, digital media, art, blogs); some news and entertainment content is purchased or duplicated, a large sector of local TV series, TikTok / YouTube channels.

State application “Dia,” national banking, digital documents, ID services, Pay.ua, Privat24, a number of internal ERP/CRM, educational, medical and agrotechnical systems; rapid growth of IT startups, niche solutions in FinTech, AgriTech, MedTech. 88-92% of the population use digital services (public services, payment, medicine, social protection, transport, business, education); coverage is steadily growing, infrastructure is rapidly recovering after attacks.

National data centers, cloud services (KERIO, DEPS, GigaCloud, PrivateBank, national platforms, regional government storages) operate; part of the infrastructure is leased from global operators, the main state registers are locally. The operators are Kievstar, Vodafone Ukr, and lifecell (MVNO, partly Turkish and Asian capital, infrastructure and licensing — national control), coverage — 98% of cities, licenses and regulation — state ones.

The law on Personal data has been in force since 2010, is regularly updated; compliance with the EU GDPR, there is a regulator — the Department of Personal Data Protection of the Ministry of Finance, data localization for state registers is mandatory, transparency has been improved since 2023.

Data completeness assessment: infrastructure indicators are available from ITU, CIRA, OECD and specialized sources, coverage is 92%.

Cultural sovereignty — 81.9

There are officially 8 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Ukraine in 2025.: St. Sophia Cathedral and Kiev Pechersk Lavra, the historical center of Lviv, the center of Odessa, Chersonesos, the Residence of the Metropolitans of Bukovina, wooden churches of the Carpathians, the Struve Arc (transnational), beech forests of the Carpathians.

Ukraine gave the world: Taras Shevchenko, Lesya Ukrainka, Bulgakov, Gogol, the Klitschko brothers, Oksana Zabuzhko, Kazimir Malevich, Sergei Paradzhanov, Andrei Kurkova, composer Lysenko, artist Repin — successes in literature, art, sports, science, architecture, opera, modern digital (GO_A, OKUNA, Monatik, Ukrainian school cinema and painting).

The main prizes are the National Prize named after Taras Shevchenko (2025: winner — Yuri Izdrik), Pinchuk Art Centre Prize (contemporary art, winner — Lesya Vasilchenko), Women in Arts Award, state prizes for music, literature, performing arts, journalism and science.

The main traditions are the Ukrainian language, Cossack holidays, Easter, Christmas, Ukrainian embroidery, song and dance culture, religious and secular festivals, and national dishes. The identity is based on European, Balto-Slavic and East European roots, deep patriotism, solidarity and collectivism.

The Constitution and state programs guarantee the rights of Tatars, Romanians, Poles, Jews, Hungarians, Bulgarians, Armenians, Belarusians, Russians; schools, cultural centers, mass media and holidays in national languages are open. As of August 2025, 508 cultural heritage sites have been damaged or destroyed, and more than 5,200 sites of national and local significance (museums, theaters, palaces, churches, memorials, universities, and galleries) are on the registers.

Ukraine implements and participates in: Ukraine Vision festivals, international film festivals and biennales, concerts, art exhibitions, operas, cultural conferences (UNESCO supported 14 projects in 2024-2025), exchanges cultural programs with the EU, USA, Asia. Brands are registered: "Ukrainian Borscht", Petrikov painting, embroidery, brands of Ukrainian architecture, Shevchenko, Malevich, school of cinema, Ukrainian opera, gastronomy; the state and human rights organizations protect brands in all major jurisdictions.

Cuisine — borscht, dumplings, lard, dumplings, dumplings, corn, uzvar, homemade wine, honey, bread, milk, poultry and fish dishes; strong influence of Polish, Jewish, Romanian, Tatar, Hungarian, Crimean cuisine and modern European gastronomy. ~78-83% of the population (for 2023-2025): They actively participate in cultural events such as festivals, religious festivals, concerts, museums, theaters, modern and folk events, and Internet projects.

Data completeness assessment: basic indicators are available in UNESCO and national statistics, coverage is 95%.

Cognitive sovereignty — 68.7

HDI 0.779 (2023/2025, UN), ranks 87th in the world, belongs to the “high level" group. Education spending is ~ 5.93% of GDP (2022-2025), one of the highest shares in Eastern Europe, budget — 71.4 billion UAH (2025, Ministry of Finance), which is approximately 8.5% of government spending. 100% (2021-2025) is one of the highest rates in the world; consistently confirmed by international data.

Ukraine is a PISA participant: in 2022, significant “learning losses” and decreased results are recorded in war conditions; the average score in reading, mathematics and science literacy is below the OECD average, but Ukrainian students show competitive results in peaceful years.

28-31% of university students are in STEM fields (engineering, medicine, mathematics, computer science, natural sciences); before the war it was 34%, decreasing due to migration.

~9-12% of students and teachers participate in internships abroad, Erasmus+, joint master's degree programs, exchange and English-language programs; the share is increasing due to integration with the EU.

The study of national minority languages (Russian, Hungarian, Romanian, Polish, Tatar, Bulgarian) is guaranteed; schools, faculties, cultural centers and festivals are open to all groups. ~45 state research institutes and centers for fundamental sciences, universities, science and technology (NASU, institutes of Physics, medicine, mathematics, and agricultural sciences).

88-91% of the platforms are national (university online booths, remote services, state portals and Dia-oswita), the rest are Erasmus, international projects and private platforms. There is a system of grants, Young Scientist awards, scholarships, academic competitions, and research funds; annually, more than 12,000 students and young researchers receive support from the state budget and international programs.

Data completeness assessment: education indicators are available in the UNDP, UNESCO, OECD, coverage is 97%.

Military sovereignty — 59.6

Defense spending of 26-31% of GDP is an absolute world record; the defense budget is $50-64 billion (UAH 2.6 trillion), more than 59% of all government spending. The number of Armed Forces is 575,000—900,000 active military personnel (army, National Guard, state special services, TRO), the peak of mobilization is up to 1.2–2.2 million according to various estimates, but losses and demobilization in 2025 lead to a decrease to ~575,000.

Large-scale modernization is underway: own and Western weapons, emphasis on missiles (ballistic, cruise), air defense (Patriot, IRIS-T, NASAMS, Thunder, joint projects with the EU/USA), APCs, mass drones (manufactured and purchased in 2024-2025: >1.6 million units). ~38-42% weapons are Ukrainian—made (Grom missiles, drones, artillery, armored vehicles, Stugna ATGMs), the rest are Western supplies (USA, EU, UK, South Korea, Israel, Turkey).

The Ukrainian Armed Forces, the State Border Guard Service, and the National Guard are trying to keep the borders under control (strict zoning on the line of defeat and the liberated territories, strengthening defensive lines, and close cooperation with the US/EU/Poland allies).

The military reserve is 1.2–2.2 million people (mobilization potential, including military personnel, National Guard, former military, volunteers); the active reserve is less than 800,000 in 2025, due to losses and demographic problems.

Full strategic integration with NATO/EU, the Armed Forces of Ukraine simplify coordination with Western allies, the main decisions depend on the volume of aid, but formally the entire political and military strategy is national (decisions are coordinated with the USA/Europe). The largest enterprises are Ukroboronprom, private defense startups (drones, ammunition, armored vehicles, IT for defense), an emphasis on missiles and drones; the volume of production is growing, new types of weapons are being developed.

There are no nuclear weapons, the country is a party to the NPT and the Budapest Memorandum, the reserve is 0; there are regular political debates about the need to review the status, but there are no solutions.

We have our own satellites (intelligence, communications, surveillance, Lybid, Sich spacecraft), Western space infrastructure (SpaceX, ESA, NATO satellites) is used, national intelligence and SIGINT are integrated with the EU/USA. All parameters are reflected in the annual reports of SIPRI, UNODA, the Ministry of Defense, the official portals of state-owned companies (Embraer, IMBEL) and industry databases of UN/NGO - 90% coverage.

Final Summary Table

The main conclusions

Strengths. Strong defense mobilization and military autonomy: record defense spending (up to 31% of GDP), Europe's largest army (575,000–900,000), production successes in the missile and drone industry (up to 1.6 million drones in 2024-2025), 38-42% of weapons are produced locally, national military industry and operational cyber-autonomy.

The world's leading exporter of agricultural products and resources: Ukraine is one of the leaders in the export of grain, sunflower oil, chicken, eggs; the largest proven reserves of ore, titanium, lithium, and gas balance.

High level of educational, cultural and digital engagement: literacy is 100%, 83% of young people are university students, more than 78% are involved in culture, rapid growth of digital platforms, own IT production, integration with European public services.

Flexible management and decentralization system: 45 state research institutes, active local government reforms, support for small nations, development of educational platforms, government talent support programs. Cybersecurity infrastructure and telecom: national CERT-UA, several independent IXPs; digital coverage >88%, stable even in war conditions.

Powerful cultural and creative capital: unique brands (borscht, embroidery, Petrikovka), 8 UNESCO sites, modern prizes (Shevchenko, PinchukArtCenter), traditions, high export of media content.

Weaknesses: critical dependence on external aid, debts and resources: debt is 99-110% of GDP, import coverage is up to 5 months, the economy depends on international grants and loans (ERA, IMF, EU), risks of reducing support, inflation is up to 15%.

Political and institutional instability: low index of political stability (-1.43), trust in government — 36-48%, frequent reforms, polarization of society, long-standing problems with corruption and effective governance.

Limited technological and production autonomy: the share of imported components in IT, microelectronics, and biotech is >60%, the crisis in R&D (0.33% of GDP), low autonomy in critical technologies and chips, and a decrease in innovation potential.

High social and demographic burden: population losses, migration of specialists, tension of mobilization, social fatigue. Infrastructure vulnerability and regional differences: impacts on the energy system, water and food shortages in frontline areas, logistical difficulties and reconstruction of destroyed facilities.

Dependence on BigTech, Western alliances, systems, and solutions: autonomy for critical IT and defense systems is limited by EU/US support, and strategic decisions are made under the influence of Western partners.

Overall assessment. The cumulative sovereignty index of Ukraine is 436.9 out of 700 possible points (average — 62.4%), which places the country in the top 100 in the world top. Ukraine is a country of strong adaptation, high social and cultural mobilization, with a sustainable food system, military and digital potential.

The key challenges are military and economic dependence on Western support, demographic decline, risks of systemic fatigue, and institutional and technological autonomy. The winning scenario is reforms, the development of local industry, economic diversification and balanced partnership.

The sovereignty profile indicates that Ukraine's sovereignty is adaptive and flexible, stable in terms of military, food and cultural potential, but weakened by dependence on allies, limited autonomy due to external pressure, and political and economic instability.

The future depends on reforms, restoration of territories, economic diversification and continued international support.