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Maksym Balaklytskyi holds a PhD in Ukrainian Literature (2003) and is a Doctor of Sciences in Social Communications (2014) received from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine. He had internships in the UK (Cambridge University), Germany, and Poland. He started his career in media as a production team member of a news and opinion TV weekly, he made video reports from the Ukrainian Parliament and served as a News Editor at the Hope Media Group, Ukraine.

In 2004-2022 Maksym worked as a Professor of the Journalism Department at V.N.Karazin Kharkiv National University, the leading university in Ukraine. He also was a visiting lecturer at Jan Dlugosz University in Czestochowa, Poland. He is a member of editorial boards of three academic journals in Ukraine – The Journal of V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. Series: Social Communications; Bulletin of Lviv Polytechnic National University: Journalism; Ukrainian Information Space.

Maksym holds a two year scholarship for doing research on possible susceptibility of Ukrainian refugees in the EU toward Russian disinformation. 

Since the Russo-Ukrainian war began in 2022, over four million Ukrainians have fled to the European Union, benefiting from the Temporary Protection Directive. Many refugees from southeastern Ukraine, where Russian language and media were common, hold diverse views on Russian culture. Russia, positioning itself as a defender against Western influence, uses disinformation to discredit these refugees and destabilize Europe. This study analyzes Russian propaganda narratives, particularly those targeting Ukrainian refugees, to identify how they exploit political vulnerabilities. The goal is to help the EU counter Russian disinformation and prevent further division within its borders.