American Academy Panel Discussion

Russia in Ukraine III: Cauldron of a Nation

The war in Ukraine looks increasingly like a bloody stalemate, with Russia failing to secure significant gains but inflicting enormous suffering on the civilian population. If Russia’s military shortcomings have been one major surprise of the war, the other has been the remarkable performance and spirit of Ukraine’s forces, leadership, and ordinary citizens. Many Western analysts who previously viewed Ukraine as a country that was deeply divided between Ukrainian and Russian speakers and unable to overcome its own endemic corruption have been forced to consider the country anew. Such reevaluations will ultimately affect long-term thinking about Ukraine’s future relationships with the European Union and NATO.

How should we understand Ukraine’s extraordinary determination? Is Vladimir Putin the father of Ukrainian national unity, or has Ukraine been chronically misunderstood in recent decades? What effect is the enveloping violence of war having on the identity of Ukrainian citizens, and how do they view the conflict? What does the conflict portend for the complicated relationship between Ukrainians and Russians?

Panelists:

Joshua Yaffa, Contributing Writer, The New Yorker; fall 2018 Bosch Fellow, American Academy in Berlin

Gwendolyn Sasse, Director, Centre for East European and International Studies; Professor of Political Science, Humboldt University

Serhii Plokhii, Director, Ukrainian Research Institute and Professor of History, Harvard University