Why This Matters: Ukraine, Russia, and the United States

| Apr 1, 2022

Commentary and analysis to make sense of the war

By Allyn Summa, Executive Director


It’s been over a month since Russia invaded Ukraine. Like many, I’ve been watching events unfold with great concern. While some progress in peace talks appeared to have been made earlier this week, fighting continues with no end in sight and tensions remain high between the United States and Russia. Meanwhile, the war is having profound geopolitical consequences for Europe, the United States, and the world. 

IGA is working to try to make sense of it all. And, to make this work as accessible as possible, we’ve compiled our efforts all together in one place on our website. Our hope is that this landing page can be useful tool to help you better understand the war, its consequences, and America’s role in the conflict.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III visit Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 24, 2022. US Department of State

We invite you to spend some time on this page, where you will find the following:

  • None Of The Above podcast episodes with guests Terrell Jermaine Starr, Thomas Graham, Rajan Menon, Nataliya Gumenyuk, Peter Pomerantsev, and Anatol Lieven. Alongside host and IGA senior fellow Mark Hannah, these journalists and scholars discuss US-Russia relations, European security, the history and causes behind Russia’s invasion, and what a peace deal to end the war could look like. 
  • An installment of our What In The Word video series from our conversation with Thomas on the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Back in January, Thomas and Rajan shared a roadmap for ending the crisis, which they argued would not sacrifice America’s core interests and principles. 
  • Commentary and analysis by IGA team members, which examines the media’s coverage of the conflict, reflects upon America’s past support for Ukraine, and answers tough questions about what the United States can realistically do to help Ukraine without prolonging and expanding the war.

I hope you have the opportunity to read, watch, and listen to this important work. In the months ahead, we will continue to share new resources and make updates to help break down why the geopolitical ramifications of the war and America’s response to it matters. 

Please drop me a note. What global issues do you think about? 


Written by Allyn Summa

Allyn Summa is the executive director of the Institute for Global Affairs. Drop Allyn a note and let her know what global issues you think about.

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