Author: TheConversation

By Kirsten Gelsdorf, Professor of Practice and Director of Global Humanitarian Policy, Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, University of Virginia, University of Virginia; and Jacob Kurtzer, Director and Senior fellow, CSIS Humanitarian Agenda, Georgetown University As Russia continues to target houses, apartment buildings, hospitals and civilians in Ukraine, there are mounting calls from international aid groups to safely evacuate and protect Ukrainians caught in the war. Simultaneously, rising numbers of people still in Ukraine are in desperate need of food, medical supplies, water and other lifesaving materials. Russia and Ukraine have discussed what are called “humanitarian corridors”...

Arash Javanbakht, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Wayne State University “Polina came to our bedroom awakened by the sound of explosions. I didn’t know and still don’t know what to tell her. Her eyes today are full of fear and terror, eyes of all of us.” Alina, a family friend who is a marketer and mother of two children from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv – which is under seige by Russian forces – shared this reflection on her Instagram story. Her daughter Polina is 7 years old. The unprovoked assault by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s army on the sovereign...

By Jose J. Padilla, Research Associate Professor, Old Dominion University; and Erika Frydenlund, Research Assistant Professor, Old Dominion University More than 2 million Ukrainians, almost all women and children, have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24, 2022. The sudden exodus of Ukrainian refugees is at a scale not seen in Europe since World War II. The migration of Ukrainian refugees has prompted a swift international and regional response, including everything from celebrity online fundraising campaigns that have raised more than US$18 million to European countries opening their doors to Ukrainians. But this momentum is unlikely to sustain...

By Anjana Susarla, Professor of Information Systems, Michigan State University “Russian President Vladimir Putin is locked in a vicious struggle not only to subjugate Ukraine, but also to keep his own citizens united in support of Kremlin policy. But as Ukrainian fighters capture the admiration of the world in Twitter posts and TikTok videos, even the illusion of Russian unity is beginning to crumble.” – Cynthia Hooper It seems straight out of an action movie: As the capital city becomes a war zone, the defiant president looks into the camera and delivers a clear and compelling message: “I am...