Russian Aggression in Ukraine

• Department of Law

This session of the EUI International Law Working Group features Tetiana Kyselova, Director of the Mediation and Dialogue Research Centre in Kyiv, advisor to various international organisations and experienced mediator.

The armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which began in February 2014 and continues with a large-scale invasion in February 2022, is an attempt by Russia to regain territories which were under its long colonial oppression, but also to revive an international system based on the rule of force. For Ukraine, this war is a decolonization struggle for its independence and territorial integrity within internationally recognised borders.

What do we mean by dialogue and who should speak to whom and at what level and with what purpose? Is dialogue at all possible in the circumstances of such asymmetrical war and during its hot phase? What are the preconditions of dialogue and what preparatory work has to be done to kick off thinking about dialogue at some point? Dr Kyselova will address these issues on the basis of the multi-track approach to conflict resolution, presenting a whole-of-society picture of potential avenues to dialogue that go beyond geopolitical analysis.