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.

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Find out more about our experts covering the crisis

NameTitleArea of focus
NameJenny Allsopp TitleBirmingham Fellow
(Department of Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology)		 Area of focusYouth migration
Humanitarianism
Social policy of migration and asylum
NameSiddhartha Bandyopadhyay TitleProfessor of Economics Area of focusLeadership in times of conflict
NameJohn Bryson TitleChair in Enterprise and Economic Geography Area of focusCyber security
National security
International relations
Economy of war
NameTereza Capelos TitleDirector of the Institute for Conflict Cooperation and Security Area of focusDeterminants of political judgements
Role of emotions and values on radicalisation
Political trust, cooperation and conflict
Civic engagement and media use
NameDavid H Dunn TitleProfessor in International Politics Area of focusSecurity policy
Use of force in diplomacy
Nuclear and arms strategy
NATO and European security
Diplomacy
NameSara Fregonese TitleAssociate Professor of Political Geography Area of focusUrban conflict
Terrorism
The role of cities in geopolitics
NameCharlotte Galpin TitleAssociate Professor in German and European Politics Area of focusNational identity
Nationalism
EU citizenship
NameTim Haughton TitleReader in European Politics Area of focusPolitics of Central and Eastern Europe
Party politics
Political campaigning in Eastern Europe
NameMartin Ottmann TitleAssociate Professor in Peace and Conflict Studies Area of focusPolitical economy of civil war and development, including peace processes and negotiated settlements
Power-sharing, resource redistribution, elections, and political trust after war.
NameJenny Phillimore TitleProfessor of Migration and Superdiversity Area of focusForced migration
Border laws
Displacement 
Immigration protocol
NamePatrick Porter TitleProfessor of International Security and Strategy Area of focusPower politics
Causes and consequences of decline in power
Foreign and defence policies
International security
NameNando Sigona TitleChair of International Migration and Forced Displacement Area of focusRefugees
Migration governance
Asylum seekers
Immigration and identity
NameGraham Timmins TitleReader in International Politics Area of focusEuropean integration
Foreign policy role of the EU
EU-Russia politics
NATO
NameMark Webber TitleProfessor of International Politics Area of focusSecurity policy
Diplomacy
International summitry
NameNick Wheeler TitleProfessor of International Relations Area of focusTrust and international relations
Sovereignty 
International conflict
International security
Humanitarianism
Trust between nuclear armed states
NameKataryna Wolczuk TitleProfessor of East European Politics Area of focusRelations 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
NameStefan Wolff TitleProfessor of International Security Area of focusNegotiations 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

Refugees walking along railroad tracks

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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

A drone in mid-air

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

A military tank on a gravel road

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

A tank being loaded onto road transport

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

The Moldovan Flag

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

Bronzed busts of Russian Leaders

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

Soldiers patrol through woodland

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

5 January 2023
Professor Stefan Wolff

Belarussian and Russian flags

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

Syrian bombed out buildings

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

13 December 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor David Hastings Dunn

An automatic machine gun set up on grass

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

7 December 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

International flags

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

15 November 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

Donald Trump

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

11 November 2022
Professor David Hastings Dunn

A soldier aiming a gun in a barren environment

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

10 November 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

President Putin speaking at an assembly

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

20 October 2022
Professor David Hastings Dunn

A red and orange fiery nuclear explosion set against a black sky

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

USA, Russian and Chinese flags

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

Monochrome drawing of two hands shaking

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

28 September 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

A monochrome image of a toy tank on a global map

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

Chinese soldiers carrying the national flag

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

16 September 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

A military gun in the field

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

A bombed tower block with holes in the brickwork

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

24 August 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

Kosovo flag painted on a brick wall

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

20 July 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor Tatyana Malyarenko

An Iranian mosque

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

20 July 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor Tatyana Malyarenko

Moscow park

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

20 July 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor Tatyana Malyarenko

Federal Chancellery

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

12 July 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

Ukrainian sculpture of a boy

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

Russian solders during the Victory Day parade

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

9 May 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor Tatyana Malyarenko

A Russian Sukhoi fighter jet

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

17 March 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

The Moldovan flag

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

25 April 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

United Nations flags

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

31 March 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

A mass protest in Belarus

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

23 March 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

Vladimir Putin speaking at a press conference

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

17 March 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff

A drawing of Vladimir Putin set against the Russian flag

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

17 March 2022
Dr Richard Shorten

Ukraine-Russia protests

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

16 March 2022
Associate Professor Adrian Campbell

Demonstrations in Ukraine

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

14 March 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor Tatyana Malyarenko

A fighter jet in mid-air

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

14 March 2022

A drawing of two opposing tanks, one set against Ukrainian colours and the other against Russian colours

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

8 March 2022
Professor Stefan Wolff, Professor Tatyana Malyarenko

Becoming the teacher – hopes and fears taking on the job at home

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.

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