Ukraine flagAs the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to develop, UCL academics are advancing public knowledge about the situation by analysing events and providing expert comment in the media.
UCL’s School of Slavoic and East European Studies (SSEES), which is one of the UK’s largest institutions for research and teaching on Russia, the Baltics, and Central, Eastern and South-East Europe, has collated expert commentary and resources surrounding the ongoing war in Ukraine, which are available in the SSEES on Ukraine: Resource Hub here.
Based in the Department of Political Science at UCL, the Conflict & Change group, founded in 2015, contributes to the scientific understanding of political violence. They have collated their thoughts here , on the war in Ukraine to try and make sense of the tragic events by drawing on research they have done in and on Russia and Ukraine, on conflict dynamics, and on foreign policy and international organisations.
Experts from across UCL have also shared their thoughts and analyses on the UCL Europe Blog here.
Here, we feature the work of UCL colleagues across multiple disciplines, who are providing critical commentary across the globe about the war in Ukraine and its impact through numerous appearances on TV radio, print and online news sources.
Opinion: A bunch of thugs so vicious they filmed themselves setting fire to a Syrian army deserter: Professor Mark Galeotti (UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies) gives his opinion on the mercenary squad ’tasked with assassinating Zelensky and 23 other Ukrainian leaders’. Read: Mail Online , More: UCL News
Opinion: Putin’s use of military force is a crime of aggression: The Russian leader’s invasion of Ukraine poses a grave challenge, and one that sanctions and financial measures alone cannot address, says Professor Philippe Sands (UCL Laws). Read: FT (£) , More: UCL News
Is the war with Ukraine the beginning of the end of Putinism?: Professor Mark Galeotti (UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies) discusses the latest in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, what miscalculations Putin has made so far and why so many experts failed to predict the scale of the conflict. Listen: New Statesman ’World Review’ (from start)
Would Putin follow through with his nuclear threat?: "Putin is playing a bit on the crazy. The theory goes that if people think I am mad enough to use them then that plays to my advantage," says Professor Andrew Wilson (UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies). Read: Sun
Could Putin be a new tsar?: Putin has regularly been referred to as a tsar but Dr Ben Noble (UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies) says that "Putin is the leader of a personalist authoritarian regime" and "he is a dictator". Read: El Tiempo (Colombia)
How Ukraine was born and its historical links with Russia: Professor Andrew Wilson (UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies) says that it is important to see Ukraine, both its territory and its identity, as more of a "shifting puzzle" than a coherent unit. Read: BBC Mundo
Gun battles in Kyiv: Dr Julie Norman (UCL Political Science) discusses the developing situation in Ukraine, a gun battle on the streets of Kyiv and how thousands of people are trying to flee to safety. Listen: BBC World Service Radio’s ’Weekend’ (from 8 mins 50 secs) , More: BBC World Service Radio’s ’Weekend’ (from 55 secs) , BBC World Service Radio’s ’Weekend’ (from 27 mins 35 secs)
European and Russian scientists will not stop working together on major Mars mission: "It’s a very difficult and regrettable situation at the moment on the ground of course but in space we have very good working relationships with our Russian colleagues and that’s continuing," says Professor Andrew Coates (UCL Space & Climate Physics). Read: Sun
Opinion: Isolated, paranoid, deluded. But Vladimir Putin isn’t a mad despot - he’s evil : Professor Mark Galeotti (UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies) considers Putin’s endgame and says he may be deluded about his invasion of Ukraine. Read: Mail Online, More: UCL News
Opinion: Is Vladimir Putin mad, brilliant or somewhere in between? : After 20 years in power, Russia’s leader appears to be channelling his inner Bond villain to the extreme, says Professor Mark Galeotti (UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies). Read: Telegraph (£), More: UCL News
The history behind Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: Professor Philippe Sands (UCL Laws) says Ukraine is a "complex" country that "travels East and West" and that this "is the heart of the problem." Listen: BBC Radio 4’s ’Today Programme’ (from 2 hours 55 mins 13 secs)
Kiev or Kyiv? The politics behind a war-torn name : "Kyiv is a transliteration from the letters of the Ukrainian alphabet, whereas Kiev is a transliteration from the Russian," says Professor Andrew Wilson (UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies). Read: Telegraph (£) , More: Express
How Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is likely to increase London food prices and energy bills: Professor Mark Galeotti and Professor Andrew Wilson (both UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies) discuss how the situation in Ukraine is likely to hit energy prices, food prices and potentially cause cyber-attacks in London. Read: My London News
Ukraine-Russia crisis: What’s Putin’s next move? : Honorary Senior Research Associate, Vladimir Pastukhov (UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies) says that Putin "has an almost religious belief of his special place in history" and "he will cook the meat on a slow fire." Read: BBC News , More: India Today
What happens now Russia has ’invaded’ Ukraine? : Russian troops entering Ukraine "could be the beginning of something much larger or the peak point of something that’s been building quite a while," says Dr Julie Norman (UCL Political Science). Read: Evening Standard , Listen: Evening Standard’s ’The Leader’ podcast (from 1min 21 secs)
Opinion: Russia may be about to invade Ukraine. Russians don’t want it to : Surveys show that for Putin, invading Ukraine comes with political risk at home, writes Dr Katerina Tertytchanaya (UCL Political Science), alongside academics from George Washington University, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Cornell University. Read: Washington Post, More: UCL News
What Putin’s comically long table tells us about Russia’s inner workings : Fears about Putin getting seriously ill likely played a part in the decision to distance the leaders with a long table, according to Dr Ben Noble (UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies). Read: NBC News
For Putin, disquiet is the new quiet : Dr Ben Noble (UCL SSEES) has argued that Putin is often wrongly perceived as a "one-man show," when many constituencies are involved. Read: Bloomberg , More: Washington Post
Russians don’t want Putin to invade Ukraine : Surveys show that for Putin, invading Ukraine comes with political risk at home, say academics from various institutions including Dr Katerina Tertychnaya (UCL Political Science). Read: Washington Post
Why Putin keeps his distance from world leaders: Dr Ben Noble (UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies) believes that Putin may keep a distance from other leaders as the Kremlin is nervous about the possibility of him contracting Covid - mainly due to the political fallout if he were to fall seriously ill or die. Read: Independent
