War in Ukraine: Recap and Media Coverage

Panelists included Bobby Chesney, Director of Strauss Center and Associate Dean of the School of Law, Will Inboden, Former Senior Director of the National Security Council and Executive Director of Clements Center, Sheena Chestnut Greitens, Director of the Clements-Strauss Asia Policy Program and Associate Professor at the LBJ School, Steve Slick, Former CIA Case Officer and Senior Director of the National Security Council and Director of Intelligence Studies Project, Jeremi Suri, Professor at the UT-Austin Department of History and LBJ School, Zoltán Fehér, Former Hungarian Diplomat and Clements Center Pre-Doctoral Fellow, and Alexandra Sukalo, Former Eurasian Military Analyst for the U.S. Department of Defense and Clements Center Post-Doctoral Fellow. The LBJ School of Public Affairs Dean DeShazo opened the event.

Will Inboden began the conversation noting that the world will look different when Russia’s invasion is over and that it will be recognized as a turning point in international political history. He reflected on previous presidential administration relationships with the Kremlin from 1985 to the present, noting that every U.S. president since Ronald Reagan has attempted to engage with the Kremlin both to reduce nuclear arsenals and boost the Russian economy. Jeremi Suri followed, declaring the invasion as the most important geopolitical event that we have seen since 9/11. Suri poses and answers several questions, including why Ukraine matters and why deterrence failed. Sheena Chestnut Greitens followed, noting that this event will reshape global order. Greitens examines Putin’s flawed understanding of the contemporary influence of information, and she considers the lessons China may learn from this invasion as well as the implications it has for Taiwan. Steve Slick examined the intelligence component of the war in Ukraine, stating that the Biden administration has so far done well protecting its intel sources and communicating information to the public. Alexandra Sukalo highlighted the loaded rhetoric used by Putin to justify his invasion of Ukraine, recalling Putin’s claim to “denazify” the country. Bobby Chesney provided a legal perspective of the invasion of Ukraine, addressing Russia’s weak legal arguments to invade. Zoltán Fehér closed the conversation, noting that it is unprecedented for the EU to provide arms as they have to the Ukraine and enforce heavy sanctions on Russia. Several of the panelists addressed Ukraine’s legitimacy as a soverign state. Zoltan even concluded by quoting Head of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen: “Ukraine belongs.” 

Check out the news coverage of “War in Ukraine”:

University of Texas Experts Weigh in on Ukraine War, KVUE

Russia Holding Off On Large-Scale Cyberattacks Against Ukraine, Here’s Why, KXAN

Russia, Ukraine Invasion: Could We Be Headed to Another Cold War?, Fox 7

 

If you missed the event, listen to the recording on our podcast platform, Horns of a Dilemma, and check out the pictures on our Flickr page!