PANEL DISCUSSION ON RUSSIA’S WAR IN UKRAINE AT HOWARD UNIVERSITY (USA)

On March 27, Mykola Riabchuk, Principal Research Fellow at the Department of Political Culture and Ideologies, took part in the podium discussion on “Russia’s War in Ukraine” at the international conference “Geopolitics, Language(s) and Diplomacy” in Howard University, Washington DC. In his presentation, Dr. Riabchuk explained why Ukrainians are very skeptical about the ‘peacemaking’ efforts of the incumbent American administration and have no trust in Moscow capacity t negotiate in good faith. As long as the Russian leaders deny the very existence of the Ukrainian state and nation, a strive to eradicate them from political map, Ukrainians have little choice but to fight since the war for them is really existential. Or, as the CIA Director John Ratcliffe had to admit recently, Ukrainians “will fight with their bare hands if they have to, if they don’t have terms that are acceptable to an enduring peace”. It means, Dr. Riabchuk, concluded, that the real peace can be achieved only from the position of strength, from Ukraine’s preponderance, both military and diplomatic.

Mykola Ryabchuk speaks