Perspectives into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

With the unfolding events following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, our expert researchers are sharing their insight and research commentary. We look at the issues affecting Ukraine and the rest of the world - including international sanctions, migration and displacement and the economy.

Find out more about our experts covering the crisis

Name	Title	Area of focus
Jenny Allsopp	Birmingham Fellow (Department of Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology)	Youth migration Humanitarianism Social policy of migration and asylum
Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay	Professor of Economics	Leadership in times of conflict
John Bryson	Chair in Enterprise and Economic Geography	Cyber security National security International relations Economy of war
Tereza Capelos	Director of the Institute for Conflict Cooperation and Security	Determinants of political judgements Role of emotions and values on radicalisation Political trust, cooperation and conflict Civic engagement and media use
David H Dunn	Professor in International Politics	Security policy Use of force in diplomacy Nuclear and arms strategy NATO and European security Diplomacy
Sara Fregonese	Associate Professor of Political Geography	Urban conflict Terrorism The role of cities in geopolitics
Charlotte Galpin	Associate Professor in German and European Politics	National identity Nationalism EU citizenship
Tim Haughton	Reader in European Politics	Politics of Central and Eastern Europe Party politics Political campaigning in Eastern Europe
Martin Ottmann	Associate Professor in Peace and Conflict Studies	Political economy of civil war and development, including peace processes and negotiated settlements Power-sharing, resource redistribution, elections, and political trust after war.
Jenny Phillimore	Professor of Migration and Superdiversity	Forced migration Border laws Displacement Immigration protocol
Patrick Porter	Professor of International Security and Strategy	Power politics Causes and consequences of decline in power Foreign and defence policies International security
Nando Sigona	Chair of International Migration and Forced Displacement	Refugees Migration governance Asylum seekers Immigration and identity
Graham Timmins	Reader in International Politics	European integration Foreign policy role of the EU EU-Russia politics NATO
Mark Webber	Professor of International Politics	Security policy Diplomacy International summitry
Nick Wheeler	Professor of International Relations	Trust and international relations Sovereignty International conflict International security Humanitarianism Trust between nuclear armed states
Kataryna Wolczuk	Professor of East European Politics	Relations between EU and post-Soviet states Integration in post-Soviet space Nationalism and national identity in post-communist countries Cultural politics of Russia and Eastern Europe Foreign, security and development policy
Stefan Wolff	Professor of International Security	Negotiations in war International diplomacy International security Democracy

UK government's response to refugee crisis is too little, too confused, too slow

Professor Nando Sigona

The UK, despite government rhetoric of "generosity" has been underwhelming and out of step with the rest of Europe in relation to supporting Ukrainian refugees.

Read the full article in the Birmingham Brief

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Russia’s War on Ukraine: What can we learn from Europe’s other conflicts?

Dr Nicholas Barker and Dr George Kyris
20 February 2023

The EU’s Response to the Ukraine Crisis – Five Foreign Policy Takeaways and Challenges for 2023

Dr Graham Timmins
16 December 2022

Commentary: Why is the idea of a 'neutral' Ukraine a non-starter in peace talks?

Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor David Dunn
25 March 2022

What Does ‘De-Nazification’ Mean to Russians?

Professor Sara Jones, Dr Maren Rohe
21 March 2022

Response to Ukraine crisis must protect women and children

Dr Sandra Pertek, Professor Jenny Phillimore
14 March 2022

We’re nuclear weapons experts – this is the reality of Putin’s threat

Professor Nick Wheeler, Rishi Paul
10 March 2022

What does the Ukraine crisis mean for the automotive sector?

Professor David Bailey
7 March 2022

Putin’s Ukrainian war, sanctions, and the tragedy of the Russian people

Professor John Bryson
25 February 2022

The Putin Paradox? Russian National Security and the Ukrainian Military Crisis

Professor John Bryson
24 February 2022

Ukraine’s hidden tragedy, and what the media will soon forget

Dr Irina Kuznetsova
15 February 2022

IN THE CONVERSATION

Multi-national flags flying atop long poles

Ukraine war: Zelensky’s diplomatic tour has improved the ground for a fresh military offensive – but it needs to come soon

25 May 2023
Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor Tatyana Malyarenko

A colourful globe showing European countries and Ukraine

Zelensky’s European tour has won critical support for Ukraine’s counter-offensive

16 May 2023

Professor Stefan Wolff

Ukraine war: drone ‘attack’ on Kremlin – logic suggests a false flag to distract Russians ahead of Victory Day on May 9

4 May 2023
Professor David Hastings Dunn, Professor Stefan Wolff

Ukraine war: Pentagon leaks paint gloomy picture of long war that can’t be won but must not be lost

13 April 2023
Professor Stefan Wolff

A miniature figure of a tank and a person waving a flag

Ukraine war: the lessons from the Northern Ireland peace process

6 April 2023
Professor Stefan Wolff

A group of people protesting about the invasion of Ukraine

A divided Ukraine could see two radically different states emerge

4 March 2023
Dr Richard Connolly

Flags flying outside the United Nations building

Ukraine: Beijing’s peace initiative offers glimpse at how China plans to win the war

24 February 2023
Professor Stefan Wolff

An armoured vehicle in a Ukrainian military parade

Ukraine: 12 months at war – Biden visit to Kyiv sets the seal on a year of growing western unity and Russian isolation

20 February 2023
Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor Tatyana Malyarenko

Ukraine 12 months at war: why Kyiv’s western allies must rethink the limits of their military aid

16 February 2023
Professor David Hastings Dunn

Ukraine war: ‘soccer plot’ raises fears of fresh Russian attempts to destabilise neighbouring Moldova

15 February 2023
Professor Stefan Wolff

Protesters against the Ukraine-Russia war

Ukraine war: why Zelensky’s corruption purge could be key to the outcome of the conflict

25 January 2023
Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor Tatyana Malyarenko

Ukraine war: Kremlin’s campaign of misinformation keeps Kyiv and its allies guessing

19 January 2023
Professor Stefan Wolff

A man holding a child stand by the remains of a bombed out building

Ukraine war: the bloody battle for Soledar and what it tells us about the future of the conflict

12 January 2023
Professor Stefan Wolff

Ukraine war: despite Russian setbacks, an end to the conflict is not yet in sight

5 January 2023
Professor Stefan Wolff

Ukraine war: Putin’s Belarus visit ends with talk of increased defence cooperation and nuclear sabre-rattling

21 December 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor Tatyana Malyarenko

Ukraine war: drones are transforming the conflict, bringing Russia on to the frontline

13 December 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor David Hastings Dunn

The forgotten war: what Russia could win from the reignited conflict in Syria

7 December 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

US-China talks: Biden and Xi attempt to play down superpower tensions but Ukraine and Taiwan loom large

15 November 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

US midterms: America appears to have passed ‘peak Trump’

11 November 2022
Professor David Hastings Dunn

Ukraine recap: the battle for Kherson could determine the outcome of this war

10 November 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

Ukraine war: this conflict is just further evidence that Putin’s Russia is now a rogue power

20 October 2022
Professor David Hastings Dunn

Ukraine war: latest UN vote shows world wants conflict to end – but can’t agree on how to prevent Putin going nuclear

13 October 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

Ukraine war: China’s lukewarm support for Russia is likely to benefit Kyiv – here’s why

4 October 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor Tatyana Malyarenko

Ukraine war: west condemns ‘sham’ referendums in Russian-occupied areas

28 September 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

Ukraine war: Putin calls up more troops and threatens nuclear option in a speech which ups the ante but shows Russia’s weakness

21 September 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

Ukraine war: Putin’s failure will pave the way for China’s rise to pre-eminence in Eurasia

16 September 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

Ukraine war: the push to recover Kherson in the south is on – will it succeed?

30 August 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

Previous articles in The Conversation

Ukraine war: six months on the only way to resume negotiations is to increase cost to Russia

24 August 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

Ukraine war: why Moscow could go nuclear over Kyiv’s ‘threats’ to Crimea

20 July 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor Tatyana Malyarenko

Ukraine war: why Moscow could go nuclear over Kyiv’s ‘threats’ to Crimea

20 July 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor Tatyana Malyarenko

Ukraine war: why Moscow could go nuclear over Kyiv’s ‘threats’ to Crimea

20 July 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor Tatyana Malyarenko

Ukraine war: Russia’s G20 walkout heightens tensions at fractious summit as China’s rise continues

12 July 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

Ukraine: survey shows British people, and especially Tory voters, feel very differently about some refugees than others

4 July 2022
Dr Paulo Morini, Professor David Hudson

Ukraine: Victory Day celebrations can’t mask how badly things are going for Vladimir Putin

9 May 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor Tatyana Malyarenko

Kaliningrad: Russia’s ‘unsinkable aircraft carrier’ deep in Nato territory

17 March 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

Ukraine invasion: ‘stage two’ of Russia’s war is ringing alarm bells in nearby Moldova – here’s why

25 April 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

Ukraine peace negotiations: how far are the two sides from a settlement that could stick?

31 March 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

Ukraine: the complex calculations that will decide whether Belarus enters the conflict on Russia’s side

23 March 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

Ukraine Recap: Putin’s plans explained – at home and abroad

17 March 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

Putin’s not a fascist, totalitarian or revolutionary – he’s a reactionary tyrant

17 March 2022
Dr Richard Shorten

How Vladimir Putin took control of Russian TV – and how that might be starting to crack

16 March 2022
Associate Professor Adrian Campbell

Ukraine: how Putin could try to split the country into regional puppet governments

14 March 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor Tatyana Malyarenko

War in Ukraine could cut global supply of essential elements for making green technology

14 March 2022

Ukraine: how negotiations could stop the war and what needs to happen first

8 March 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor Tatyana Malyarenko

Ukraine: what’s really behind Putin’s deployment of ‘peacekeeping’ troops? Experts explain

22 February 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor Tatyana Malyarenko

Support for staff and students from the University of Birmingham

We understand that the situation in Ukraine and Russia may be distressing for our staff and students, particularly those with family, friends or other connections who may be affected. We are closely monitoring the situation and are reaching out to members of our community who are directly impacted, including those currently working and studying in the wider region, to offer and provide support. If you are concerned regarding any staff or students who may be in the region or affected, then please let us know as a matter of urgency. We also strongly encourage all staff and students to follow the latest Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) advice.

Students can talk to their School Wellbeing Officers or access a range of mental health and wellbeing support via the Your Wellbeing pages on the intranet.

Staff can contact the University’s Employee Assistance Programme 24 hours a day 7 days a week and can also speak to their line manager or their HR team about other support that may be available.

UK government's response to refugee crisis is too little, too confused, too slow

IN THE CONVERSATION

Support for staff and students from the University of Birmingham

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