Four years of war: Ukraine’s resilience, Europe’s reckoning

As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine grinds into its fifth year, shifting global alignments and mounting political pressures are reshaping Europe’s strategic environment. The attempt to crush Ukrainian sovereignty continues, but the invasion has revealed a society capable of extraordinary resilience – militarily, politically and socially.

The Brussels Institute for Geopolitics invites you to join us on Tuesday, 24 February for a webinar that moves beyond commemoration to a clear-eyed debate about endurance, escalation, and strategic choice. A central question remains how Ukraine can continue to sustain and adapt its resistance – on the battlefield and across society – amid continued mobilisation, economic strain and the day-to-day pressures of governing in wartime. At the same time, the war is redefining Europe’s security order in real time, through decisions on deterrence, defence readiness, industrial capacity and risk management.

As another year of war in Europe elapses, this online discussion brings together three expert voices to examine Ukraine’s endurance from complementary angles – nuclear strategy, politics and society, and European security – and to offer a frank assessment of where the war may be heading next:

• Mariana Budjeryn, Senior Researcher at MIT’s Center for Nuclear Security Policy, brings deep expertise on Ukraine’s denuclearisation and the long-term strategic consequences of security guarantees, deterrence, and vulnerability.
• Ed Arnold, Senior Research Fellow for European Security at RUSI, provides a geostrategic assessment of how Russia’s war on Ukraine is reshaping European defence, deterrence, and the future architecture of continental security.
• Oleksandra Azarkhina, Ukrainian policy expert and former Deputy Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine, offers a practitioner’s perspective on governing under wartime conditions, including sustaining essential services and supporting reconstruction and infrastructure resilience during Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The discussion will be followed by a Q&A.

The webinar will take place via the Zoom platform. Participants will receive a link to join the event following registration.