The Russo-Ukrainian War NEW

The course takes stock of the Russo-Ukrainian War. By November 2024, 700,000 Russian soldiers have been reportedly killed or wounded, while reportedly 80,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and 400,000 wounded. The war has escalated with the involvement of Iran and North Korea, as well as NATO and the US. Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine because he believes that the collapse of the Soviet Union upset the equilibrium of the world order. Putin also believes that the expansion of NATO into the former Soviet sphere of influence threatened the national security of Russia. The course will cover such topics as Ukraine's troubled transition to democracy, the failure of diplomacy to prevent the war, the challenge of the war to the international legal order, America and the war: does America really want Ukraine to win the military balance? will Russia use nuclear weapons? Europe at the crossroads, the reconstruction of Ukraine, prospects for a just peace settlement, and the war and world order.
 
Robert Weiner taught a course on War for several years at the University of Massachusetts/Boston, He is a Center Associate at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, and is currently working on a book on the war.