Faculty, staff and students gathered in Doyle Banquet Hall on March 21 to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine during “The War in Ukraine: A Panel Discussion.”
Lisa Baglione, Ph.D., professor of political science, Viktoriya Lantushenko, Ph.D., assistant professor of finance, Melissa Chakars, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the department of history and Tetyana Berezovski, Ph.D., professor of mathematics spoke during the panel. Each professor gave a brief presentation on the war in Ukraine from their respective fields followed by a Q&A from audience members.
Christopher Close, Ph.D., associate professor of history, led the discussion, and the department of international relations, the Honors Program, the history department and the department of political science sponsored the event.
During the panel, Chakars first discussed some of the reasons as to why Russian President Vladimir Putin chose to invade Ukraine, including the false beliefs that Ukraine and Russia are one country, Ukraine is a “Nazi regime” and Ukraine is leading a “Russian genocide.” Chakars also said Putin wants to demilitarize Ukraine as a way to weaken the country.
“We are all deeply concerned about the war in Ukraine,” Chakars said in an interview with The Hawk. “Putin has created an information war, if you will, whereby he is saying lots of things that are false and not true. I think part of [this panel discussion] is also a way to dispel some of that.”
During the panel Baglione then discussed the current negotiations between Ukraine and Russia and how they might achieve a resolution, as well as concerns about foreign engagement.
Baglione said the West has a tendency to become disengaged in international conflict once the initial shock wears off and cites this as one reason resolution might be difficult to achieve.
“Where were we six months ago? We were worried about Afghanistan,” Baglione said during the panel. “Who’s talking about Afghanistan? When was the last time you thought about that? Democracies are really bad at being engaged in that sense.”
Baglione said she believes one of the best ways for the U.S. and other democracies to stay engaged include maintaining and strengthening sanctions against Russia.
Lantushenko discussed these financial aspects of sanctions and their goal of isolating Russia.
“These effects make it very difficult for Russia to conduct their business,” Lantushenko said during the panel. “One of the strongest impacts that made the Russian economy choke is that the sanctions froze assets of the Russian Central Bank.”
Berezovski ended the discussion talking about action steps for attendees to take with them, including a brief history of the war crimes Russia has committed against Ukrainians and how to support those impacted.
For Berezovski, this discussion was very personal because she has family currently living in Ukraine.
“In the last three days, western Ukraine was bombarded,” Berezovski said during the panel. “My small city, that Putin didn’t even know exists, was bombarded three times the night before last. Now my family cannot shelter in the basement because if a vacuum bomb fell on a 12 story house, it destroys everything until the end.”
Kevin Hoban ’24 attended the lecture after Baglione suggested students attend in class. Hoban thought the lecture would be a great opportunity to expand his understanding of the politics and financial aspects of the topic, but was surprised by Berezovski’s valuable outlook and familial connection.
“Her experience of having family members there shed a whole different, very human aspect to the whole situation,” Hoban said “I don’t think it’s something that is talked about enough, especially in an academic space.”