Ilya Timtchenko is a Fellow with the Transatlantic Defense and Security Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).

Timtchenko is an analyst with more than 14 years of experience focused on Eastern Europe. He is the Founder and CEO of HawkNation LLC, a consulting firm that supports public and private sector clients with Ukraine-focused strategy, resilience, and growth initiatives. Timtchenko has authored more than 250 publications, including contributions to Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Washington Post, The National Interest, Newsweek, The Cipher Brief, The Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Atlantic Council, the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), and the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, among others.

Previously, Timtchenko served on the intelligence team at Strider Technologies, an AI-powered strategic intelligence firm that helps organizations identify and mitigate geopolitical, supply chain, and state-sponsored risks. He also worked as a Program Manager and Research Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

He holds a Master's in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, where he was a Belfer Center fellow. During his time at the Belfer Center, he worked as a Research Assistant to Ambassador Paula Dobriansky at the Future of Diplomacy Project and to Paul Kolbe at the Intelligence Project. He also founded the Ukraine Caucus at Harvard Kennedy School, a student organization that convenes Ukrainian leaders and experts to advance understanding of the region’s geopolitics. Timtchenko's graduate thesis "The Future of US Development Assistance to Ukraine: Facilitating Ukraine’s EU Accession in the Agriculture, Energy, and Tech Sectors" was written for USAID's Senior Advisor for Ukraine’s Recovery and Reconstruction under the supervision of Robert Zoellick, the 11th President of the World Bank, 14th US Under Secretary of State, 13th Trade Representative, and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff.

Before studying at Harvard, Timtchenko worked as an editor and journalist in Ukraine since 2014. As an executive editor at Kyiv Post, a leading English-language newspaper in Ukraine, Timtchenko trained and managed journalists who later founded the award-winning Kyiv Independent. As the Head of Ukraine at REDD Intelligence, an information platform that provides intelligence and data on emerging market corporates, Timtchenko spearheaded the company’s presence in Ukraine. Timtchenko received his bachelor’s degree from Gordon College in Massachusetts with a double major in international affairs and economics.