Denys Kolesnyk is a French strategic intelligence analyst based in Paris. He specialises in geopolitical risk, information warfare, and influence operations in Central and Eastern Europe, with a focus on Russia, Ukraine, and Poland. He advises institutional and private-sector decision-makers on political, security, and information threats.

He has worked at the NATO Liaison Office to Ukraine, with Effective Engagement Strategies, and other organisations in advisory and analytical capacities. In 2022, he founded Info Ops France , an initiative focused on strengthening French society’s resilience to information threats. Since mid-2023, he has supported ESN as an expert on FIMI and disinformation. He also serves as President of the MENA Research Center .

He holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas and is currently pursuing a PhD at Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (CNAM), where his research focuses on disinformation, social networks, media narratives, and their effects on public opinion.

He works in English, French, Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian. He also has basic conversational knowledge of Arabic and can read Arabic texts.

Certifications and Professional Training

• Novel Developments in Information Resilience and Cognitive Security — International Centre for Defence and Security (ICDS), 2022
• 360° Digital Sherlocks: OSINT and Digital Investigation — Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab), 2022
• NATO–EU Roundtable — European Atlantic Treaty Association (EATA), 2017
• New Security Leaders Programme — Casimir Pulaski Foundation, 2016
• NATO Beyond the Warsaw Summit: Adapting to the New Realities — Prague Security Studies Institute, 2016
• Security Policy Workshop — Defence Academy of the United Kingdom and Cranfield University, 2011

Selected Speaking Engagements and Contributions

• Speaker, Central and Eastern Europe Security Forum — Foundation Institute for Eastern Studies (Warsaw, 2025)
• Speaker, discussion on the implementation of strategic and defence reviews — Chatham House (London, 2025)
• Speaker, Young Security Conference (Munich, 2024)
• Speaker, conference on disinformation — National Information Resilience Cluster (Poland, 2023)
• Speaker, conference on hybrid threats — Centre for Strategic Analysis and Forecasting (Poland, 2023)