Podcasts

Donbas – Regional Battlefront with Global Repercussions

2023 gets off to a deadly start and Dr. Mikhail Alexseev, professor of international relations at San Diego State University discusses the Donbas Region – battlefront of the Ukrainian invasion by Russia.

Donbas, largely occupied by Russia, is a heavily industrialized region of eastern Ukraine that became the first battleground in 2014, when Russia instigated two breakaway states – Danetsk and Luhansk – challenging the authority of the Ukrainian government. When Ukrainian President Zelensky traveled to the US to ask for Support from congress, he symbolically began his journey by visiting his soldiers at the front in Donbas.

After describing the situation and history of Russian occupation in Donbas, Alexseev shares thoughts on this historical moment in global politics that surrounds the recent visit of the Ukrainian president to the USA, asking for help.

Dr. Alexseev grew up and worked as a journalist both in Ukraine and Russia. He received his PHD at the University of Washington. His research, books and publications focus on international and internal wars, ethnic relations, nationalism, and immigration in Russia/Eurasia, with a special focus currently on sociopolitical effects of the military conflict over East Ukraine.