Our Take on This Topic

Published December 2025 by Riley Risk | Updated quarterly

Full Disclosure: We're one of the providers listed here. Riley Risk has worked in Ukraine since 2013, initially supporting organizations during the Maidan Uprising, than later with the Donbas conflict, the February 2022 invasion, mass evacuations, and the long grind since.

We've watched providers come and go, seen what works under pressure, and learned who actually picks up the phone at 3am when missiles are inbound, or someone is dealing with a checkpoint detention.

This is the comparison we'd give a friend asking where to start.

How We Picked These Providers

Six things matter in Ukraine that don't matter as much elsewhere:

1. Do they have people in-country?

Remote monitoring from London is different from a team in Kyiv who can meet your staff, vet your driver, or show up during an incident.

2. Do they understand your type of organization?

Corporate executive protection is a different job than supporting NGO field teams in Kharkiv. Some providers are great at one and not so equipped for the other.

3. Can they do more than one thing?

You need intelligence, training, travel support, and crisis response to work together. Buying each separately creates gaps.

4. Will they answer at 2am Kyiv time?

Attacks happen at night, during the day. Your provider's business hours shouldn't be in New York.

5. Can you afford them, is your security budget line item getting maximum value?

Enterprise solutions built for Fortune 500 companies don't help a 30-person NGO with a fixed security budget. Sometimes even a Fortune 100 with massive security budget and "global provider" support needs something more hyper-focused with on-the-ground context and resources. 

6. What's their actual track record?

Two, very important red flags here. Some providers who were in Ukraine before 2022 disappeared or went quiet when things got hard - that tells you something. But also watch for providers who only showed up after February 2022, chasing a hot market. They  might lack years of network-building, don't have established local relationships, and haven't learned through the slow accumulation of experience that only time provides. The difference between "we've worked Ukraine since 2016" and "we expanded to Ukraine in 2023" matters when you need a vetted driver in Kharkiv tomorrow.

Provider Options

Riley Risk: CountryACCESS Ukraine

Good fit for: 

NGOs & Development Organizations (15-500 staff): Professional security management at NGO-appropriate pricing

Enterprise Organizations: In-country security expertise that extends your global security team's reach without the overhead of direct hires, with local knowledge, unified command

What we actually do:

We've been in Ukraine, persistently since 2016. Nine years through every phase - Donbas monitoring, the February 2022 chaos, evacuations, reentry assessments, program startups in new areas, closedowns when funding dried up. We didn't show up because Ukraine became a hot market. We were already there.

CountryACCESS is retainer-based. You pay monthly, based on the capacity of support and resources you use form our team and you get the full suite of resources needed for an actually effective security program. We built it because we watched organizations either overpay for enterprise solutions designed for ExxonMobil, or cobble together cheap options that fell apart under stress. 

What's in the CountryACCESS Service?

What we don't do:

Why people pick us:

Usually because they tried something else first and it didn't work. Either they paid too much for services they didn't need, or they paid too little and got left hanging when it mattered. Nine years of not leaving tends to matter to people who've been burned. 

CountryACCESS - Overview 

International SOS

Good fit for: Large companies, organizations that need medical evacuation built in, multinationals adding Ukraine to existing global coverage

What they bring:

International SOS is the biggest name in global medical and security assistance. 7,000+ hospitals in their network. Actual medevac aircraft. Multilingual assistance centers running 24/7. They've been doing this for decades.

In Ukraine specifically: they deployed teams multiple times in 2022 to refresh their provider networks. They've moved medical equipment into the country for humanitarian operations. Staging capability in Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Moldova.

Where they're strong:

Medical evacuation. Full stop. If getting a critically injured employee to a Level 1 trauma center in Western Europe is your primary concern, they have infrastructure nobody else matches.

They're also already embedded with most corporate travel programs and insurers. If your company uses them globally, extending to Ukraine is straightforward.

Where they're weak:

Security advisory is secondary to medical. They do it, but it's not their core business.

They're expensive. Their pricing assumes enterprise budgets. A 40-person NGO will struggle.

Intelligence tends to be broad. Good for general awareness, less useful for "should we drive to Dnipro tomorrow."

Pick them over us if:

You need integrated medevac as a hard requirement, or you're a large multinational already using them everywhere else, or you don't really need on-the-ground expertise and bespoke intelligence for your operations in Ukraine. 

Control Risks

Good fit for: Big organizations wanting strategic consulting, sophisticated intelligence products, long-term security program development

What they bring:

Control Risks has worked Ukraine for 30+ years. They have a legal entity and staff in Kyiv. A lot of diplomatic missions and larger, well - funded NGOs use them.

Their daily Ukraine-Russia Monitor subscription is solid analytical work—scenario analysis, business implications, political context. Their analyst bench covers the former Soviet space with real depth.

Where they're strong:

Strategic consulting. If you need to build an internal security department from scratch, or you want high-level geopolitical analysis to inform board decisions, they do that at a level most providers can't touch.

Intelligence quality is genuinely high.

Where they're weak:

Cost. They're built for organizations with serious budgets. Consulting rates reflect it.

They're consultants, not operators. Day-to-day tactical support isn't their model. You hire them to tell you what to do, not to do it for you.

Pick them over us if:

You need (and can afford) high-level strategic consulting, or you want to build sophisticated internal capability with expert guidance.

Global Guardian

Good fit for: Executive protection, corporate security teams, organizations needing physical protection details or crisis extraction

What they bring:

Global Guardian extracted thousands of people from Ukraine in early 2022. They have teams on the ground in Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary. Their ops center runs 24/7 from McLean, Virginia.

In November 2025, they bought Solace Global, which significantly expanded their European presence and added Solace's travel risk management technology.

Where they're strong:

Physical protection. If you need trained personnel escorting executives or protecting a facility, they have people.

Crisis evacuation. They've done it at scale in Ukraine and have the logistics figured out.

GPS tracking and journey management technology.

Where they're weak:

They're built for corporate and executive protection. NGO field operations with distributed teams in remote areas isn't their core model.

Premium pricing. This is high-end security, priced accordingly.

Pick them over us if:

You need armed protection details, executive security, or you want a provider who's done mass crisis evacuation and might need to do it again.

G4S Risk Management Ukraine

Good fit for: Organizations needing licensed physical security personnel, facility protection, EOD capability, or large-scale guard forces

What they bring:

G4S has a licensed Ukrainian legal entity operating as a private security company. ICoCA membership. ISO certifications (9001, 18788, PSC.1). Headquarters in Kyiv.

They provide Protective Security Detachment services—vetted armed or unarmed personnel. EOD/demining capability. Facility security assessments.

Where they're strong:

Scale. If you need 20 guards for a facility tomorrow, they can do that. Physical security at volume is their business.

Local licensing and compliance. They're properly registered to operate armed security in Ukraine.

Where they're weak:

This is physical security, not security consulting or intelligence. You're hiring guards and protective services, not strategic advice.

Their model suits larger operations. A small NGO needing occasional travel support isn't their target client.

Pick them over us if:

You need licensed security personnel, facility protection, EOD support, or physical security at scale. We'd coordinate with a provider like G4S for physical security requirements we can't fill directly.

 In-House Security Manager + Local Consultants

Good fit for: Organizations with budget to hire experienced staff and willingness to manage security internally

The approach:

Hire a senior security manager (expat or qualified Ukrainian national). Contract directly with local providers for drivers, guards, training. Manage your own program.

What works:

Control. You get exactly what you design. Deep organizational integration. Institutional knowledge stays internal.

Potentially cost-effective if you get the right hire and manage vendors well.

What breaks:

Finding qualified people is hard. The good ones are expensive or already employed. Hiring the wrong person is costly and dangerous.

Single point of failure. When your security manager is on leave, sick, or quits, what happens?

You need management capacity. Someone senior has to oversee security, handle vendor relationships, maintain quality. Most organizations underestimate this burden.

No 24/7 coverage unless you build it yourself or contract it separately.

Our honest take:

We've picked up several clients who tried this and found it unsustainable. The combination of recruitment difficulty, single-point-of-failure risk, and management burden wears organizations down.

A hybrid often works better: Hire a senior person for internal ownership, use CountryACCESS for 24/7 monitoring, intelligence, and training infrastructure. Usually costs less than a fully-loaded expat security manager alone, and eliminates the coverage gaps.

Best Options: Hybrid - If It Makes Sense

Quick Reference

Questions to Ask Any Provider

Before signing:

Ukraine-specific experience: How long have you operated in Ukraine? What were you doing there before February 2022? What did you do during February-March 2022? Do you have staff in-country now, or do you manage remotely? If they started after 2022, ask what specific networks and relationships they've built -and how.

Client fit: What percentage of your Ukraine clients are similar to us (NGO/corporate/government)? Can we talk to a current client reference?

Actual capabilities: If I call at 3am Kyiv time, who answers? Where are they located? What's your average response time for urgent requests?

Pricing transparency: What's included in the base price? What costs extra? What happens to pricing if we need surge support during a crisis? 

Service continuity: What's your staff turnover? If our primary contact leaves, what happens?

Red Flags

Walk away if you see: