This week, Ukraine and the world commemorate the third anniversary of the beginning of the full-scale war. We refer to it as the Great War because, in reality, russia’s aggression against Ukraine has been ongoing since 2014.
Three years ago, during these very days, our Association APPAU reached out to all partner organizations and members of the Industry4Ukraine platform with a call for unity and mobilization. This is how the Ukrainian Cluster Alliance (UCA) began its journey.
Today, we must ask ourselves important questions: what path have we taken, how have we changed, what lessons have we learned, and why must we continue our unity?
I will briefly answer these questions.

Our Path

Today, the Ukrainian Cluster Alliance (UCA) unites more than 40 organizations, primarily clusters, accounting for over 70% of all active clusters in the country.

The 2024 Annual Report highlights significant achievements: increased financial and resource capacity, sustainable growth, expanded membership, and progress in institutionalization, internationalization, and innovation. Suppose we view this project as a startup today. In that case, it has survived and become a powerful business association capable of taking responsibility for the clustering of the country’s economy.

Before 2022, Ukraine had experienced three failed attempts to create a cluster ecosystem. However, in February 2022, APPAU called on Ukrainian clusters to unite because it believed in the benefits of clustering and realized that we could only resist aggression and survive.

Today, we understand that clusters are one of the most effective tools for economic development. They possess unique collective methods and competencies that make the economy more resilient and competitive.

Now, analyzing our journey and the factors of our resilience, I want to highlight three key factors:

• Support for clusters and their willingness to unite. In 2022, more than 30 volunteers actively participated in UCA’s initiatives, with our cluster coordinators from various regions and industries playing a crucial role.
• Support from American and European partners remains the No. 1 factor in our sustainable growth. It is impossible to grow or even survive long on just “bread and water.” By 2022, our activity volume exceeded €500,000, even though our actual budget was only €88,000. Without these donations, we would not have been able to maintain a team of 10 people, ensuring a high volume of activities and services for 30+ clusters. Our members—businesses themselves—were in extremely difficult situations, as Ukraine lost up to 40% of its GDP in the first year of the war.
• The APPAU team as the foundation of UCA’s management. We entered UCA’s project management with a ready team with years of experience in cross-industry, inter-cluster, and international activities. Without this, hoping for effective action on such a scale would have been futile.

Thus, these three factors led to a new cluster association that today represents the country’s cluster movement and implements projects ensuring sustainable development. Among them, two stand out:

1. Development of a national cluster policy (in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy and through the Accelerate GDT project under Interreg Europe).
2. Development of regional cluster policies (six pilot regions, a project in partnership with Regional Development Agencies, supported by UCORD).

These two projects aim to include systemic support tools for clusters, including state support, which traditionally exists in all developed countries but has practically never been present in Ukraine.

How We Have Changed

Over three years, we have grown and transformed. Among the key changes in the Ukrainian Cluster Alliance (UCA) environment, the following aspects stand out:

• Values above all. Democratic values of freedom, solidarity, equality, mutual respect, inclusivity, and sustainable development are the foundation that holds our unity together. They form the basis of our cooperation within the country and with European and American partners. As long as we believe in and uphold these principles, no populists—wherever they may be—won’t be able to break us.
• Professionalization. From an amorphous structure and ad-hoc association, UCA has transformed into a professional networked cluster organization with a clear structure, strategy, and European cluster development standards. Not everyone favors this course of professionalization. We face both hidden and open resistance, as professionalization exposes populists and grant opportunists who benefit from maintaining old schemes. But we must move forward—tolerating low quality or inefficiency in wartime is unacceptable. This, again, is a matter of values.
• Support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine: from donations to integration into the defense industry. If in 2022, our assistance to the army was limited to donations, today, more than 10 UCA clusters are actively involved in the defense-industrial complex (DIC). Our Dual-Use Technology Resource Center works closely with government structures and military units, supplying weapons, ammunition, and specialized services from cluster members.
• Even greater adaptability and flexibility. Ukrainians are world champions in survival. Throughout 1000+ years of history, we have endured countless aggressions and occupations. This genetic code continues to function today, but now we see our skills evolving—from mere adaptation to collective resistance. Agile methods are no longer just intuitive but are becoming conscious management tools. We are moving from discussions and knowledge exchanges (special thanks these days to Kurt Nielsen and his colleagues) to the actual implementation of Agile methods in project management, leadership, and organizational standards.
• Understanding the role of a strong state as the foundation of security. As part of civil society, we recognize that maintaining independence without a strong state is impossible. Over 30+ years of independence, we have failed to build a powerful state. We chose democracy but continued electing populists without a strategy, without distinguishing friends from enemies, and without fighting corruption.

War is the price for these past mistakes. It is also a warning to our partners in the democratic world: the cost of populism can be too high, and responsibility for it falls on all of us. So, friends, look up!

Key Lessons

My three key lessons from these three years—these are also calls to action for Ukrainian and Euro-Atlantic partners:

1. “Strong Together” – This deep Ukrainian narrative, which inspired us during the civic revolutions of 2004 and 2014, continues to hold us together today. And clearly, this must now become the rallying cry for all free people of the planet who do not want dictators or wars. Recent events in the U.S. show how easily populists, once in power, can dismantle democratic institutions. These are dangerous processes, and the only way to resist them is through unity—not only among states but also in business and civil organizations.
2. “Be relevant or die.” This phrase was popular among marketers and digital transformation experts in the 2000s, but today, it takes on a broader and more literal meaning, especially in the context of rising populism. Just before the war, why did the Ukrainian government invest billions in roads construction, only for them to be used by Russian tanks? Why did Western investors continue funding Russia (or China) until they had created their enemies? Why is the EU prioritizing the Green Transition when war approaches its borders? Security is the No. 1 priority today, and all other questions must align with this reality. UCA’s Clusters4Defense initiative still lacks EU support, so we remind our friends: “Be relevant or die.”
3. “Hold the line.” The vastly outnumbered Ukrainian army has held a 1,200 km frontline for three years—the distance from Milan to Berlin, or one-third of the EU’s eastern border. This is why complaints about business difficulties pale compared to what our soldiers endure. But darker times lie ahead. So hold the line—everyone has their own frontline: on the battlefield, in economics, or in diplomacy.

On behalf of UCA, I express my gratitude to all Euro-Atlantic partners who support Ukraine, our clusters, and business associations. We believe in our victory.

Alex Yurchak, CEO of UCA