Alex Stezhensky

Editor and Writer | NV English

A Kyiv native, Alex originally envisioned a career in visual media and sound production before his path shifted in 2006 when he moved to New York. After returning to Ukraine in 2020, he launched his journalism career as a translator at the New Voice of Ukraine. He quickly advanced to editorial and authorship roles, producing original reporting and analysis. Alex specializes in investigative journalism, focusing on international affairs and domestic politics. Outside of the newsroom, he remains passionate about photography and music composition.


Belarus pressure campaign /
Zelenskyy: Moscow weighs strikes on Ukraine or NATO

Russia is reviewing plans for possible operations from Belarusian territory, either south toward Ukraine’s Chernihiv-Kyiv sector or north against a NATO country, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on May 15.
15 May, 06:00 PM 204
Russian war

Russia’s shadow network /
Spain extradites Ukrainian suspect to Germany

Germany’s Federal Court of Justice ordered the arrest of a Ukrainian citizen suspected of spying for Russia after his extradition from Spain, German prosecutors said on May 15.
15 May, 05:36 PM 123
Nation

Back-channel leverage /
Budanov taps Russian sources for negotiating edge

Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov said his years leading the HUR military intelligence agency have helped him in peace negotiations with Russia because he still has access to informants and influential figures there.
15 May, 04:58 PM 217
Nation

Luxury cars case /
Court targets assets tied to ruling-party MP

Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court found that more than UAH 7 million in assets linked to a member of parliament were unjustified, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office reported on May 15.
15 May, 03:28 PM 50
Nation

The Kremlin’s thinning ranks /
Battlefield losses sap Moscow’s war machine

Ukraine’s General Staff says Russia is struggling with a growing manpower shortage as battlefield losses increasingly match or exceed the number of new contract recruits Moscow brings in, Lt. Gen. Andrii Hnatov told the Report news agency.
15 May, 03:07 PM 370
Russian war

NATO’s 2029 warning /
Top German general flags rising Russian attack risk

Russia could be ready to attack NATO territory as soon as 2029 — and possibly earlier, Inspector General of the Bundeswehr Carsten Breuer said in an interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung.
15 May, 02:22 PM 253
Nation

Stagflation spiral /
Economist warns Russia faces dangerous cycle

Russia’s economy is becoming Moscow’s main constraint in its ability to continue the war against Ukraine as inflation, falling energy revenue and soaring military spending deepen the strain, economist Volodymyr Vlasiuk wrote in a column for NV Business.
15 May, 12:28 PM 374
Business

Hegseth’s shock order /
Canceled U.S. rotation rattles NATO’s eastern flank

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s last-minute decision to halt the deployment of 4,000 U.S. troops to Poland caught Pentagon staff and European allies off guard, Politico reported on May 14.
15 May, 11:13 AM 344
Nation

Beijing balancing act /
Putin plans China trip after Trump-Xi talks

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin may visit Beijing next week, on May 20, the South China Morning Post reported, citing sources.
15 May, 10:31 AM 101
Nation

Mediterranean warning /
Greece presses Kyiv over drone discovery

Greece has stepped up diplomatic pressure on Kyiv after an unidentified maritime drone was found near the island of Lefkada last week, Ekathimerini reported.
14 May, 06:21 PM 142
Nation

Yermak brother tapes /
Chervinskyi blames Yermak for recorder’s death

Former SBU counterintelligence officer Roman Chervinskyi told NV why he confronted Andriy Yermak in court over the death of Dmytro Shtanko, who allegedly secretly recorded Denys Yermak, the brother of the former presidential chief of staff, several years ago.
14 May, 05:35 PM 161
Nation

Hours after arrest /
Cash pours into Yermak’s 140 million bond

Nearly 15 million hryvnias ($341,000) of the required 140 million hryvnias ($3.2 million) bail for former presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak was paid five hours after his arrest, Ukrainska Pravda reported on May 14, citing sources.
14 May, 04:47 PM 212
Nation

Power grid hit /
Russian strike leaves 14,000 homes dark

A Russian missile and drone attack damaged DTEK power infrastructure in Kyiv and left more than 14,000 households without electricity in Kyiv Oblast, the company said.
14 May, 04:00 PM 137
Nation

Yermak case /
Ex-SBU officer alleges $10,000 meeting demand

Former SBU counterintelligence officer Roman Chervinskyi told NV he was asked to pay $10,000 after early meetings with Andriy Yermak, the former presidential chief of staff now facing money-laundering allegations.
14 May, 03:29 PM 115
Nation

Kupyansk pressure point /
Moscow’s claimed gains falter near key Kharkiv city

Russian forces continue to pressure Kupyansk in Kharkiv Oblast from the north, but their operations and claimed “advances” are losing momentum, Viktor Trehubov, spokesman for the Joint Forces Group, said on national television on May 14.
14 May, 01:48 PM 105
Russian war

Kyiv rescue race /
More than 10 missing after Russian strike

More than 10 people remain missing and three have been killed after Russian forces hit an apartment building in Kyiv, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.
14 May, 01:22 PM 49
Nation

Bail scramble /
Legal community may post Yermak’s $3.6 million bond

Yermak’s 140 million-hryvnia ($3.6 million) bail could be posted as soon as today by figures in the legal community, Yaroslav Zheleznyak, an MP from the Holos party, said on Telegram.
14 May, 12:28 PM 86
Nation

Homes and dorms damaged /
Russian drones injure 23 in Kharkiv attack

Russian troops struck Kharkiv’s Shevchenkivskyi and Saltivskyi districts with drones on the morning of May 14, injuring 23 people.
14 May, 11:15 AM 65
Nation

From power to custody /
Court sends Yermak to jail in money laundering case

Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court ordered former presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak jailed pending trial, with bail set at 140 million hryvnias ($3.6 million), on May 14, according to a livestream of the hearing.
14 May, 10:33 AM 154
Nation

Fuel routes reopen /
Ukraine restores supplies from Hungary, Slovakia

Ukraine has resumed fuel imports from Hungary and Slovakia, but the shipments will not affect prices on the domestic market, Serhii Kuyun, director of the A95 consulting group, told Ukrinform.
11 May, 06:48 PM 77
Business