On 21 February, a panel of scholars came together to revisit the ongoing war in Ukraine and discuss what lies ahead. Three years ago, we hosted a talk for the International Studies Association (ISA) to analyse the Russian invasion and the outbreak of the #UkraineWar. Now, with the conflict’s end seemingly within reach, we gathered once again to examine the future of #Ukraine, #Russia, #Zelenskyy, #Putin, #Trump, and the #RiyadhTalks in our talk “Ukraine – What’s Next?”.
You can watch the full talk here.
The webinar addressed critical developments over the past thousand days of conflict. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy recently acknowledged that military efforts alone would not reclaim its annexed territories. In the same week, the UK government hinted at potential peace talks, protests erupted in Georgia, the Syrian regime collapsed, and Russia’s economy showed signs of severe strain. Amid these seismic shifts, Donald Trump’s return to the global stage raises inevitable questions about the international order’s future.
What comes next for Ukraine? NATO membership remains out of reach, but what viable alternatives exist? Can Ukraine and its neighbours forge paths towards stable democracies, or will unresolved issues continue to haunt the region? Will sanctions be lifted, and relations normalised, or will Russia face increasing isolation? And how will Russian society come to terms with the devastation of the invasion? The exodus of millions from Russia and Ukraine also poses significant challenges that the international community must address.
In the webinar, our panel of experts shared their insights and offered varied perspectives on these pressing issues. As we look to the future, one thing is certain: the region’s political landscape will continue to evolve in unpredictable and complex ways.
PANELISTS:
Tetyana Dzyadevych (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)
James C. Pearce (City College Peterborough)
Anastassiya Mahon (Independent Scholar)
Nino Gozalishvili (University of Georgia)
Natalia Stercul (Moldova State University)
Andrei Korobkov (Middle Tennessee State University).