Valery Kopiyka has been appointed acting rector of Kyiv National University: what is known about him

The order, signed by the Minister of Education, Oksen Lisovyi, states that Valerii Kopiika will head Shevchenko University until a permanent head of the institution is appointed in accordance with established procedure or until another acting head is appointed, but no later than 29 October 2026. 

The KNU Student Parliament has already sent an invitation to the newly appointed acting rector for an open meeting with students.

“We wish Valerii Volodymyrovych strength and perseverance in restoring trust in the University and its role within Ukraine’s higher education system, in establishing its authority, and in creating a qualitatively new educational environment,” reads the statement from the KNU Student Parliament.

Volodymyr Kopiika: what is known about him

Valery Volodymyrovych Kopiika was born on 5 March 1962 in Kyiv – a Ukrainian political scientist specialising in international relations and a researcher. Director of the Educational and Scientific Institute of International Relations (ESIIR) at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Doctor of Political Science (2004), Professor (2007).

In 1984, he graduated from the Faculty of International Relations and International Law at Kyiv State University.

1990 – defended his PhD thesis.

2004 – defended his doctoral thesis.

Valery Kopiika’s entire professional career has been linked to his alma mater:

• Since 1990 – Assistant Lecturer at the Department of International Relations and Foreign Policy.
• Since 1996 – Associate Professor at the Department.
• Since 2007 – Professor at the Department, Deputy Director of the Institute for Academic Affairs.
• Since 8 May 2008 – Deputy Director of the Institute.
• Since 17 June 2009 – Director of the Educational and Research Institute of International Relations at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

He has undertaken internships and delivered lectures at higher education and research institutions in Belgium (Free University of Brussels), the United Kingdom (University of Hull), and Bulgaria (Neofit Rilski South-West University, Blagoevgrad).

He specialises in issues of European integration and the foreign policy of Western European countries. He has supervised six PhD candidates. He is fluent in French.

New rector of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv: what led to the appointment

Yesterday, 29 April, it was announced that the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine had dismissed the rector of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Volodymyr Bugrov, following the expiry of his contract. Elections for the rector will take place at the university on 27 May. The academic community is set to elect the head of the country’s leading university for the next five years.

Volodymyr Bugrov, who has led the university since 2021, has confirmed his intention to stand for re-election. Yet right at the start of the race, he finds himself at the centre of several high-profile scandals.

The first is a ‘corruption’ scandal. The National Agency for Corruption Prevention has audited Bugrov’s 2023 declaration and claims to have identified violations amounting to nearly 900,000 UAH. The rector rejects the allegations and calls them a political smear campaign. The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv did indeed dismiss a number of the NACP’s claims, but found Bugrov guilty of a violation relating to the use of his son’s inexpensive car. According to the agency, the rector failed to declare his son’s 2015 Volkswagen Golf, worth 660,000 UAH, which he allegedly used regularly. The rector is appealing this decision as well.

The second is ‘intimate’. A ‘sex scandal’ has dogged Bugrov since 2022, and ahead of the next rector elections, it has taken a new turn: a video of an intimate nature has appeared on an anonymous Telegram channel, in which, according to the authors, the rector features. The Ministry of Education and Science has set up a commission to investigate Bugrov’s activities, with the university itself having initiated the probe. However, the Student Parliament of Shevchenko University has doubts about the independence of the investigation whilst Bugrov remains in office. The student council even organised a protest against Bugrov, which took place on 1 April outside the Red Building.

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