Crisis, Conflict and Confrontation: Ukraine at the crossroads between the EU and Russia

What started with peaceful protests in November 2013 against the refusal of then-president Yanukovich to sign the DCFTA with the EU turned into the deepest crisis in EU-Russia relations since the end of cold war. The Euromaidan protests and the escalating violence on the streets of Kiev ousted Yanukovich from power and paved the way for a new government which Russia views as illegitimate. Thie events in Kiev were countered by the Crimea administration that voted overwhelmingly to join Russia in a referendum deemed illegitimate by the US and EU, but welcomed by Russia. As the government in Kiev continues to emphasize the need for a united Ukraine and world leaders strive to avoid military conflict, violent unrest in the East and the South of the country cannot be ruled out any longer. Most observers are arguing about the main questions: What turned the initially peaceful protests into violence? What are the underlying causes of the societal divide in Ukraine? What went wrong in the crisis communication between Brussels, Moscow and Washington? And above all, what are the best ways out of this contemporary dilemma? The answers to these and other questions will be given by our experts during the discussion.