Ukraine, Belarus and the Complex Geopolitics of Europe

26 June 2025

10:30 - 19:00 

RUSI - Royal United Services Institute, 61 Whitehall SW1A 2ET

Final Programme

1030: Registration

1100: Welcome Brunch

Including an exhibition of books and project outputs from WUB-hub and our partners

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1145: Welcome and Keynote Addresses

Welcome: Professor Elena Korosteleva & Dr Paul Hansbury, University of Warwick; 

Professor Andrew Wilson, UCL; and Emily Ferris, RUSI 

Franak Viachorka, Senior Adviser to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

Rasa Junkeviciene, Member of the European Parliament

Ambassador Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Embassy of Ukraine to the UK

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1245: Getting to Grips with Europe’s Complex Geopolitics

This panel will showcase research activities funded by WUB-Hub’s seed funding competition and Ukrainian projects supported by UCL SSEES.

Chair: Dr Paul Hansbury, University of Warwick

Dr Aliaksei Patonia, Oxford Energy Institute

Dr Justina Pinkeviciute, Coventry University

Pavlo Rad and Dr Iaroslav Chornogor, Ukrainian Prism

Professor Rita Zablotska and Professor Oleksii Chugaiev, Taras Shevchenko National University

Sophia, Independent art curator and researcher (online)

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1400: Peace in Ukraine and the Wider Region

The US president’s approach to global politics and security marks a sharp break from past orthodoxy. European leaders have scrambled to respond and forge consensus and strategies in support of the rules-based order. Is an enduring peace imaginable for Ukraine in the current situation? What does it mean for the future security of Europe?

Chair: Professor Andrew Wilson, UCL SSEES

Oleh Dunda, MP, Ukrainian Rada

Dr Andrew Foxall, Ministry of Defence

Dr Asya Kudlenko, University of Warwick

Professor Kataryna Wolczuk, University of Birmingham

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1530: Coffee Break

1600: Belarus – A Thorn in the Flesh of Europe’s Security? 

As co-aggressor in Russia’s war against Ukraine, Lukashenka’s Belarus is viewed more than ever as a vassal state of Russia. Does Belarus have a significant role to play inEuropean security or will it remain a persistent and under-addressed problem for the foreseeable future? Can Belarusians repair relations with Ukraine despite Lukashenka?

Chair: Dr Tatsiana Chuilitskaya, Vilnius University

Artyom Shraibman, Sense Analytics

Dr Anais Marin, Associate Fellow, Chatham House

Dr Victoria Leukavets, Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies

Franak Viachorka, Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

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1730: High Level Roundtable–Sustainable Peace, Security and Democracy in the wider Europe

Are peace and security prerequisites for resilient and enduring democracy in Russia’s shadow? This closing, high-level panel will address the next steps for policy makers and other stakeholders in the wider Europe.

Chair: Professor Elena Korosteleva

Professor Andrew Wilson, UCL SSEES

James Nixey, Chatham House

Alex Pivovarsky, European Bank of Reconstruction and Development

Miriam Lexmann, Member of the European Parliament

Dr Gry Thomasen, BASIC UK

1830: Dinner reception

2000: Close

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