VCWA’s ‘Beyond the Headlines’ Look at the Ukraine Crisis
The Vermont Council on World Affairs (VCWA) recently hosted the fourth installment of their 2022 International Speaker Series, this time focusing on the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine with the help of regional and subject-area experts from across the international affairs world. “Beyond the Headlines- Crisis in Ukraine” brought together these experts to explain the impacts and realities of the invasion and articulate the likely implications for Vermont, US foreign policy, and the global community. The Council on Foreign Relations has estimated that more than 5 million people have been externally displaced from Ukraine, seeking refuge abroad, while more than 7 million remain internally displaced and without a home inside their own borders. The conflict is likely to cause tremendous global food insecurity, famine, refugee crises, and many other calamities. The conflict also presents a tremendous challenge for the global order.
Patricia Preston, President & CEO of the VCWA, opened the event with a thought-provoking call-to-action, expressing the need to consider the real human impact of the crisis and how Vermonters can contribute. Preston explained that “as global citizens, we must educate ourselves about this crisis beyond the headlines and media reports to develop a deeper understanding of the crisis and the real implications for people and communities affected.” Peter Clavelle, VCWA board chair and former mayor of the city of Burlington, echoed the sentiment and proclaimed that “we cannot allow our focus on Russia’s war on Ukraine to diminish. We recognize that many of us living in America have a short attention span. Already we are seeing the focus on Ukraine diminish.” Congressman Peter Welch also shared opening remarks, adding that “We in Vermont want to do all we can, and we, as the Vermont delegation in Washington, want to make sure that our country does all it can.”
Sessions spanned myriad topics, starting the day with an outline of the international community’s response to the ongoing war, focusing on the international relations and geopolitics aspects of the crisis, with Natalie Jaresko, a former minister of finance to Ukraine, speaking to VCWA board member and Management Systems International‘s vice president, Ellen Yount. The second session turned attention to the local impact and discussed Vermont’s role in assisting and resettling refugees, bringing together Pablo Bose and Adrian Ivakhiv of the University of Vermont and Amila Merdzanovic, the Director at the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants in Vermont with moderator and former immigration attorney Susan Sussman for a panel discussion. Lyle Goldstein, Director of Asia Engagement at Defense Priorities, and Rose Gottemoeller, former Deputy Secretary General of NATO, discussed the consequences of the Ukraine invasion, providing commentary on the broader security and geopolitics ramifications.
The day concluded with an evening keynote reception, moderated by senior editor Jim Welch of VTDigger with special guest and former ambassador to Ukraine, John Herbst. The final keynote reception discussed US-Ukraine relations and contextualized the current events in Ukraine with Herbst’s experience serving as a US ambassador to the country. “The Russian military is targeting Ukrainian civilians as much as it is targeting Ukrainian military,” ambassador Herbst proclaimed, adding that “senior Russian officials have said that the aim of this operation is to ‘de-Ukrainianize’ Ukraine.”
Ambassador Herbst’s words greatly echo in those of Natalie Jaresko in an earlier session, who gave impassioned thoughts on the war impacting the country she had once served as a finance minister. She proclaimed: “this war is not a distant war; it’s not a foreign war. This is the war that must save the liberal world from tyranny. This is the war that must save global democracy from autocracy. This is the war that will define how the free world will respond to nuclear blackmail. This is the war that sets the precedent for all our efforts to stop nuclear proliferation. This is the war that will define the future of Europe and the transatlantic partnership upon which we have built our system of trade and economic prosperity. This is the war that will define the future for our children and our grandchildren. This is our war.”
VCWA members and community members are encouraged to view the event recording by contacting marya@vcwa.org. Information about future events at VCWA can be found at https://www.vcwa.org/upcoming-events.
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