WASHINGTON – Today, the anniversary of Ukraine’s Declaration of Independence in 1991, the Wilson Center announced that it is launching a new initiative aimed at exploring Ukraine’s plans to align itself more formally with Europe and its institutions and the ramifications of those plans for both Russia and Europe.

The Global Europe Program is joining the Kennan Institute to focus on the realities of a war that is reshaping the continent. “That war is far from over, of course,” said Ambassador Mark Green, president and CEO of the Wilson Center. “But a new Ukraine is emerging from the conflict which is unified in its plans to integrate with Europe and also—when the time is right—to lead an effort to build a new, stronger Ukraine…which would have major implications for the entire region.” 

Ukraine’s aspiration for a European future has prompted positive signals from NATO and the EU. Meanwhile, Russia has reasserted its imperial designs, once again annexing foreign territory that virtually no other country recognizes.

Through the “Ukraine in Europe” project, launching today, the Global Europe Program will explore critically timely issues, including Europe’s changing geostrategic landscape in light of Ukraine’s anticipated EU and NATO membership. Kennan Institute projects will track Ukraine’s pursuit of transitional justice to hold Russia accountable for its crime of aggression as well as the war’s impact on a changing Russia. Both programs will examine outbound and return migration, the resilience of civic institutions, the pursuit of good governance and anti-corruption reforms, and the role of culture and the arts in a time of war.

This conflict has changed Ukraine, Europe, and Russia in deep and profound ways, and the Wilson Center is committed to covering both countries in a rapidly changing world as history is being made in real time.

Please follow along at our webpage Ukraine at Wilson.