Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has demonstrated that strategic communications are not merely about countering disinformation but about shaping the narratives through which wars, identities, and political legitimacy are understood. This policy brief argues that the continued use of the "post-Soviet" paradigm has become analytically outdated and strategically counterproductive, as it reinforces Russia-centred frameworks that diminish Ukraine's political agency and sovereign identity. Instead, the brief examines Ukraine's transition toward a post-colonial strategic communications framework that presents its struggle as one of resistance to imperial domination, defence of democratic sovereignty, and protection of national identity.

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Accordingly, the brief contends that democratic governments and strategic communication practitioners must move beyond inherited conceptual frameworks that inadvertently amplify Russian narratives. Drawing on Ukraine's experience, it recommends institutionalising whole-of-society strategic communications, adopting sovereignty-centred language, strengthening audience-specific messaging, supporting the decolonisation of knowledge production, and embedding proactive narrative development into national resilience strategies. Together, these measures would enhance democratic resilience against information warfare while improving the effectiveness of strategic communications in an era of intensifying geopolitical competition.