Our COMP-CAN and International Relations Colloquiums co-hosted a lecture by Professor Volodymyr Dubovyk (Mechnikov National University) titled, “What does Russia’s war on Ukraine teach us so far?” on May 5, 2023.
The massive Russian aggression on Ukraine has been ongoing for more than a year now. Even as that war is far from being over there are numerous lessons that we can already draw from it. A large-scale war is still possible in today’s world even if we were not anticipating it and not ready for it. Numbers matter in warfare but things like motivation, resilience, democratic consolidation are significant factors as well. Certain types of military like the air force and navy can be somewhat sidelined in certain circumstances. Some old school things like artillery duels still matter, but so do contemporary military technologies, like drones. The West is still out there as the consolidation of the pro-Ukraine coalition has shown. The brutal violations of the international law and an outrage about war crimes drive the response, but so do the interests as well. Many see this as a wake up call, even as it is not quite yet clear if we are seeing the early stages of a new systemic cold war. American leadership is not only needed but it is also possible. These and many other takeaways will be addressed in this presentation.
