Russia's Aggression against Ukraine: Black Sea Perspectives

Russia has amassed an estimated 150,000 troops along Ukraine's borders. To come to grips with this dramatic escalation of Europe's eight-year undeclared war, we focus on the vulnerabilities of Ukraine's southern border and the broader questions of Black Sea security, especially in the context of Turkish-Ukrainian-Russian relations. How does Nato member Turkey view Russia’s escalating aggression against Ukraine? What is the importance of occupied Crimea to this crisis, and how does it relate to the war in Donbas and the threat of further violence? Renowned experts from Ukraine and Turkey tackle these questions and more in this discussion. Our panelists included Asli Aydıntaşbaş (European Council on Foreign Relations), Petro Burkovskyi (Democratic Initiatives Foundation), and Volodymyr Dubovyk (Mechnikov National University, Odesa). The discussion was moderated by Rory Finnin (University of Cambridge) on Monday, 31 January 2022. The event was part of the free, public webinar series organised by Cambridge Ukrainian Studies, an academic centre at the University of Cambridge.