Russia’s war in Ukraine: Causes, motives, implications

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The Russian invasion of Ukraine was a watershed moment in European history and of geopolitics. It will continue to have profound consequences that stretch far beyond our continent. It is therefore vital to understand why and how this war came about.

To analyze some of the causes and motives, we have gathered a fantastic group of international experts and scholars.

Expert on the history of international relations, Mary E. Sarotte is the inaugural holder of the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Distinguished Professorship of Historical Studies at Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at the John Hopkins University. She is also a research associate at Harvard University’s Center for European Studies. Her most recent book is Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate, on what the fight over NATO expansion did to Western relations with Russia.

Sergiy Kudelia is Associate Professor of Political Science at Baylor University, with a PhD from John Hopkins University. His academic work addresses the issues of democratisation, institutional reform and political violence with a focus on Ukraine, Russia and the former Soviet Union. He has published extensively on various aspects of the armed conflicts in the Donbas region.

Owen Matthews is a British historian, writer, and journalist. He is a former Moscow and Istanbul Bureau Chief for Newsweek Magazine. Matthews has lectured on Russian history and politics at Columbia University's Harriman Centre, St Antony's College Oxford, and the Journalism Faculty of Moscow State University. His first book, Stalin's Children, was shortlisted for the 2008 Guardian First Books Award, the Orwell Prize for political writing, and France's Prix Medicis Etranger. His latest book is Overreach: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on Ukraine, and is based on his own reporting.

There will be time for questions from the audience, and we will serve some light refreshments.

Welcome!