War in Ukraine: Causes & Consequence

A little over one year ago, on 24th of February 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine. The ongoing war on the continent of Europe and in the neighbourhood area of Denmark is the most massive and destructive war that Europe has witnessed since the Second World War. Energy and food crisis ensued the invasion. Meanwhile tensions among the big geopolitical players have been increasing on a global scene. Just recently, Putin has become an internationally "wanted man" in over 120 countries days before he was to host Chinese Leader, Xi Jinping. The Chinese Leader has presented the 12-point peace deal that he envisions for Russia and Ukraine.

The war in Ukraine is a complex and multi-faceted case. In order to have a discussion of the current war, it requires an in-depth knowledge of the past and the present events, processes, and conditions surrounding Putin's war. This is therefore, we have invited a Guest Speaker, Niels Bo Poulsen, Director of the Institute of Strategy and War Studies at the Royal Danish Defence College to provide us with his insights on the current war. Niels Bo Poulsen is a leading Scandinavian expert in military history with a special interest in Russian affairs. In his recent book (co-authored together with Flemming Splidsboel Hansen) on "Putin's War" ("Putins Krig: Rusland mellem styrke og svaghed" in Danish), he dwells on the increased militarisation of the Russian society and the "company culture" that weakened the country's defence sector over the years.