WHEN: 

Monday, 4 December, 7pm

WHERE:

Ukrainian Institute London, 79 Holland Park, W11 3SW

Admission:

Free but registration is required. Please register here.

Four years on from its Euromaidan revolution, Ukraine is fighting for survival as an independent and viable state. Chatham House, the leading think-tank in the UK has recently produced  a multi-author report “The Struggle for Ukraine” which will be presented at the Ukrainian Institute London by Orysia Lutsevych, Manager, Chatham House Ukraine Forum and James Nixey, Head, Chatham House Russia and Eurasia Programme.

Video about the report:

About the report:

This report makes the case for increased Western support, and argues the EU has been too timid in applying its unprecedented political mandate to drive forward post-2014 reforms in the country.

The report, which includes policy recommendations, assesses Ukraine’s position and prospects, and examines its double existential threat: resisting Russian interference, and the fierce internal contest to determine its own political, institutional and civic future.

It states it is an illusion to believe diplomatic formulas alone will diminish Russia’s determination to dominate Ukraine, suggesting the West must work inside and outside international negotiation frameworks, the Normandy Format and Minsk process, to resolve the war between Ukraine and Russia and strengthen European security.‪

The West should provide increased defence assistance and training; funding for the modernization of the Kyiv-controlled parts of Donbas and NATO advisory programmes in the security and law enforcement sectors, it says.‪

The report covers six critical areas: geopolitics and security in the context of the conflict with Russia;European integration and the demands of the Association Agreement; economic reform; governance, democratization and the media; the role of civil society in reforms; and efforts to combat corruption.

See the summary and recommendations of the report here.

About the speakers:

Orysia Lutsevych is manager of the Ukraine Forum in the Russia and Eurasia Programme. She focuses on social change and the role of civil society in democratic transition in the post-Soviet region. Her recent research analysed Russia’s use of proxy-NGOs in achieving its foreign policy objectives. She is author of the Chatham House briefing paper, How to Finish a Revolution: Civil Society and Democracy in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Prior to joining Chatham House, she led the start-up of Europe House Georgia and she was executive director of the Open Ukraine Foundation.  She has an MS in international relations from Lviv State University and an MS in public administration from the University of Missouri-Columbia, USA. 

James Nixey is Head of the Russia and Eurasia Programme. His principal expertise concerns the relationships between Russia and the other post-Soviet states. He has published papers and articles in books and journals, and commented extensively in the national and global media.He has also organised hundreds of private expert roundtables on Russian and Eurasian affairs while at Chatham House. Publications include The Long Goodbye: Waning Russian Influence in The South Caucasus and Central Asia, ‘Russia’s Geopolitical Compass: Losing Direction’ in, Putin Again: Implications for Russia and the West, and ‘The South Caucasus: Drama on Three Stages’ in A Question of Leadership: America’s Role in a Changed World.

As the principal fundraiser for his research programme, he has raised money for projects from dozens of corporate sector companies, governments and grant-giving institutions.

James holds degrees in modern languages and international relations and has previous experience in journalism (as a reporter in Moscow in the late 1990s) and the banking sector, for Goldman Sachs.