The Department of National Security in cooperation with Future Democracy Lab, Research Excellence at Jagiellonian University cordially invite for the Guest Lecture by Dr Alina Nychyk on Ukraine’s Resilience to Russian Aggression: Prospects for Ukraine’s European Future.
Russia attacked Ukraine for the first time in 2014, when it annexed Crimea and started the war in Donbas. This aggression was a shock both for Ukraine and the EU. Ukrainian leaders were developing the country’s foreign policy by trying different approaches and learning on their mistakes. 2022 Russian full-scale invasion received a different response from Ukraine and the West. Ukraine became a biggest battlefield in Europe after the end of the World War II. What changes has Ukraine’s foreign policy experienced after 2014? How resilient has Ukraine been to Russia’s aggressive and devastating activities? Is there a possibility of peace between Ukraine and Russia? What is the future of EU-Ukraine integration?
During this lecture Dr Alina Nychyk will present findings from her newly published book “Ukraine Vis-à-Vis Russia and the EU: Misperceptions of Foreign Challenges in Times of War, 2014–2015”. She will explain the reasons of Russian aggression, Russia’s and he EU’s preferences regarding Ukraine and the differences between Ukraine’s reactions to the events of 2014 and 2022. Dr Nychyk will also shed light on Ukraine’s successful resistance and resilience, on how Ukrainian society sees the victory and what are the current options for peace. At the end, she will share her new findings on Ukraine’s getting an EU candidate status and the future of EU-Ukraine relations.
Bio: Dr Alina Nychyk is a postdoctoral researcher at European Politics Research Group at ETH Zurich. Alina received a PhD in Politics from the University of Manchester in 2022, a Master from Wroclaw University of Economics, Poland, and a Bachelor from Kyiv National Economic University, Ukraine. Alina gained extensive experience in international companies, NGOs, and European institutions.