Two Years of War in Ukraine

The 24 February 2022 marks a turning point in recent European history. Just two years ago, Russia unleashed a war of aggression on its peaceful neighbour Ukraine,  demonstrating to the world the imperial ambitions of the Russian leadership.

Since that fateful date, large areas of Ukraine have been devastated, serious war crimes have been committed and millions of people were forced to flee their homes. Nevertheless, Kremlin was unable to achieve its initial war aims – Russian President Vladimir Putin significantly underestimated the strength of Ukraine and the rapid unity of the West. Two years after the war began, this unity and strength is beginning to show signs of major cracks.

On the occasion of the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Martens Centre, together with the Political Academy of the Austrian People’s Party, looks back on the past two years and assesses the current situation with Franz-Stephan Gady, independent defence expert and political consultant, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Mueller, expert on Eastern Europe and historian at the University of Vienna, and Ulf Michael Steindl, AIES expert on the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). The discussion will be moderated by Evelyn Peternel, journalist at KURIER.