Early in the morning on February 24 local time, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he had authorized a “special military operation” with the goal of demilitarizing and “denazifying” Ukraine. With this full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin has pulled the cloth off the table hoping dishes remain in place. However, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed, Ukraine will fight to the end.
This is a critical moment for security and prosperity across Europe and the globe. What is the current situation on the ground and what should the West do now to support Ukraine’s fight for freedom and independence?
Ambassador John Herbst, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, moderates a discussion with Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky, vice chair of the Scowcroft Center for Strategy & Security at the Atlantic Council, former under secretary of state for global affairs, and a senior fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project at the Harvard University Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Ben Hodges, Pershing Chair for Strategic Studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis, Dr. Hanna Shelest, director of security programs at the Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism” and editor-in-chief at Ukraine Analytica, and Ben Judah, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center.
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The Eurasia Center’s mission is to enhance transatlantic cooperation in promoting policies that strengthen stability, democratic values, and prosperity in Eurasia, from Eastern Europe in the West to the Caucasus, Russia, and Central Asia in the East.