Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies

Lukasz Kulesa is the Director of Proliferation and Nuclear Policy at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). The PNP group conducts research and convenes dialogues on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons issues, as well as WMP non-proliferation and the nexus between civil and military nuclear programmes.

His personal research interests include nuclear and conventional deterrence, arms control, Euro-Atlantic security, NATO and Russian security policy, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and the transatlantic security relationship.

Prior to joining RUSI, Lukasz was Deputy Head of Research Office at the Polish Institute of International Affairs (Warsaw). He also worked as Research Director at the European Leadership Network (ELN), and as Deputy Director of the Strategic Analyses Department at the Polish National Security Bureau, a body providing aid and support to the President in executing security and defence tasks.

Lukasz holds an MA in International Relations and European Studies from the Central European University and is a graduate of the law department of the Jagiellonian University.

Mar is the Programme Manager for Proliferation and Nuclear Policy at RUSI. She helps coordinate the team’s research and project activities on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons issues.

Prior to joining RUSI, Mar was a Blue Book trainee at the Spokesperson’s Service of the European Commission. She contributed to the political communication of the High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell’s work and of the EU’s foreign and security policy, more generally. She previously served as Programme Officer for Asia at the Brussels-based think tank Friends of Europe.

She holds an MSc in Culture and Conflict in a Global Europe from the London School of Economics and a BA in Global Studies from Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. Her interests include the EU’s role in the world, security challenges in the Asia-Pacific region, and the power of narratives, images and perceptions in international relations.

Lennie Phillips started his career in the research and technology laboratories of ICI C&P Ltd, armed with a degree in applied chemistry. After a few years he moved into plant operations and technical optimisation of production plant, during which time he also studied for a degree in chemical engineering. A subsequent move to Associated Octel, saw a move from a large scale dedicated continuous production plant to a relatively small scale multi-purpose batch production plant.

In 2008, Lennie started work as an inspector for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). In 2011 he became a team leader, primarily for routine inspections under Article VI of the Chemical Weapons Convention, but also related to demilitarisation activities.

In 2013, he was part of the team that monitored the destruction of declared production equipment related to the Syrian chemical weapons programme. From 2015 to 2017, he was team leader for OPCW’s Fact-Finding Mission, focussing on allegations of use of chemical weapons in areas outside the control of the Syrian Government. Amongst the allegations investigated by him and his team was the use of sarin in Khan Shaykhun on 4 April 2017. After standing down from the Fact-finding mission, in  2018 he produced a Lessons’ Learned document for the Office of the Director General to inform future policy decisions.

In 2018, he was awarded an OBE for services to international security.

After leaving OPCW, he carried out consultancy work related to policy and international investigations.

Darya Dolzikova is a Research Fellow with RUSI’s Proliferation and Nuclear Policy programme. Her work focuses on understanding and countering the proliferation of nuclear weapons technology and strategic aspects of civil nuclear technology. She has conducted research on the Iranian nuclear programme and related diplomacy, Iranian and North Korean proliferation-related sanctions evasion, nuclear safety in Ukraine, the role of Russia in global civil nuclear supply chains, and other issues relating to nuclear technology and proliferation.

Prior to joining RUSI, Darya had served as the manager of government relations and policy development at Canada’s national aerospace industry association. She also has experience working in the due diligence sector and on defence-related issues in Canada’s Parliament.

Darya holds an MA in Security Studies from Georgetown University and a BSocSc in International Studies and Modern Languages from the University of Ottawa.

Dr Ana Alecsandru is a Research Fellow in the Proliferation and Nuclear Programme and Programme Manager of UK PONI. Ana’s research interests include nuclear arms control (particularly US-Russia), disarmament, and deterrence. She also manages the preeminent UK Project on Nuclear Issues designed to develop the next generation of nuclear experts.

Ana has nearly a decade of experience in international relations and security working in academia, think tanks and international organisations, including Chatham House, the European Commission (Brussels), NATO HQ (Brussels) and the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (New York City). She has a demonstrated history of working on project management, fundraising, teaching, publication, research design and organisation and events implementation on nuclear weapons issues. She is currently undertaking training to acquire PRINCE2 Agile certification.

Ana earned her PhD from the University of Birmingham (2020), with a dissertation on the diplomatic negotiations of nuclear arms control between the United States and Russia. She received an MA in Security Studies and an MA in Research Methods, both from the University of Birmingham (Distinction), as well as a BSc (Hons) in Politics with International Relations from the University of Bath (First-Class). Ana has received multiple research grants, including from the UK Economic and Research Council, Marie Curie, University of Birmingham, US Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration, and Ratiu Family Foundation Grant.

Jack Crawford is a Research Fellow with RUSI’s Proliferation and Nuclear Policy research group. His work engages with nuclear arms control and deterrence, Euro-Atlantic security, and great power competition in the 21st century, often by leveraging open source intelligence and analysis. Jack is also a Junior Associate Fellow at the NATO Defense College.

Before joining RUSI, he previously worked at the Center for European Policy Analysis, Bruegel, and the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs. He holds an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a BS in International Affairs from the Georgia Institute of Technology.