As Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine enters its ninth month, one large question lingers: Just how does this war end? Should the West push for a total defeat for Russia or should it attempt to broker negotiations?
This was one of the most contentious issues on the table as U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron met in Washington this week.
So what are the possible endgames in Ukraine? And what does Europe look like when the war is over? On The Power Vertical Podcast this week, host Brian Whitmore speaks with former U.S. State Department official Max Bergmann, director of the Europe and Russia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; and Jeff Mankoff, a Distinguished Research Fellow at National Defense University’s Institute for National Strategic Studies and author of the recently published book Empires of Eurasia: How Imperial Legacies Shape International Security (the views expressed by Jeff Mankoff are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of the NDU or the U.S. Department of Defense).
SHOW NOTES
The audio clips opening the podcast and the second segment were taken from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech on December 1.
The translations are as follows:
Opening clip:
“I would like to emphasize: in 1991, our state embarked on the legal and democratic path. We will continue this path. Only legal steps. Balanced decisions. And national interests.”
Clip opening second segment:
“Ukrainians will never again be gears of some empires. We have already gained it and we will ensure the full independence of our state. We will ensure, in particular, spiritual independence. We will never allow anyone to build an empire inside the Ukrainian soul.”
Jeff Mankoff’s book, Empires of Eurasia: How Imperial Legacies Shape International Security, which was referenced in the program, can be purchased here. You can watch Jeff discuss the book with Max Bergman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies here.
Max Bergmann’s work at the Center for Strategic and International Studies can be accessed here.
Brian Whitmore’s article in Foreign Policy, “A Ukrainian Victory Would Liberate Eastern Europe,” which was referenced in the podcast, can be accessed here.