In February 2022, Russia continued a pattern of incursions on its regional neighbors with its invasion of Ukraine. The invasion changed the immediate and long-term security landscape for Europe and beyond. NATO’s importance quickly came to dominate headlines on security in Europe, with Sweden and Finland pushing for membership. The early days of the war saw Ukraine repel the initial attacks on Kyiv and in the weeks that followed sanctions were heavily levied against the Russian government and prominent oligarchs. Ukrainian allies have debated what weapons Ukraine needs and when over the last 12 months, with the most recent development being Ukraine receiving modern tanks from European allies and the United States. Recent reports indicate Russian forces are preparing for another Spring offensive aimed at capturing more Ukrainian territory.

Please join the Pacific Council for this virtual event in which our speakers examine the state of Ukraine today, the next steps in the conflict, and how the invasion has reshaped regional security priorities over the past year.

Featuring:

Kenneth Wollack, Chairman of The National Endowment for Democracy 

Kenneth Wollack is chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy and a member of the George W. Bush Institute’s Advisory Council on Human Freedom. For more than 25 years, he served as president of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), a nongovernmental organization dedicated to advancing democracy worldwide. He retired in September 2018, after 32 years at the Institute. Mr. Wollack traveled to more than 100 countries, many on multiple occasions, in every region of the world on behalf of the Institute’s democratic development programs. For his efforts on behalf of democracy, Mr. Wollack was the recipient of NDI’s W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award, the Presidential Order of Excellence as well as Honorary Citizenship from the Republic of Georgia, the National Order “Faithful Service” from the government of Romania, and the Medal of Honor “Lithuanian Millennium Star” from the government of Lithuania. To read his full bio, click here.

Dr. Agnia Grigas, Senior Fellow at Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center.

Dr. Agnia Grigas is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center working on energy and geopolitical economy. She is the author of three acclaimed books: “The New Geopolitics of Natural Gas” (Harvard University Press, 2017), “Beyond Crimea: The New Russian Empire” (Yale University Press, 2016) and “The Politics of Energy and Memory between the Baltic States and Russia” (Routlege 2013, 2016).

She has testified for the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on American LNG exports to Europe. Agnia has fifteen years of experience in business development and strategic advisory for multinational corporations and US government institutions on growth opportunities and political risks to execute global business development goals. Previously she was an energy and FDI advisor to the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Follow via: @AgniaGrigas & grigas.net To read her full bio, click here.