Dozens of Spokane Community College students gathered Thursday morning to hear a live discussion on Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The dialogue, as part of the SCC Peace Studies podcast series on Peace Education, featured U.S. Institute for Peace Senior Program Officer Dr. Heather Ashby and was hosted by SCC Professor Angela Davis Wizner and Eastern Washington University Professor Dr. Scott Finnie.
The panel moved through the various aspects of the war, first touching on what brought about the open conflict as Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year in February.
Speaking to the crowd and into the set of cameras at the front of the room – as the podcast will release as a video later this year – Dr. Ashby said the rumblings of an all-out skirmish traces back many decades, as Russia’s history of aggression and imperialism spilled into Eastern Europe.
“It’s the mentality that you have the ability to dominate whoever you want,” Ashby said. “And be this big country.”
Professors Wizner and Finnie asked Ashby about the negotiation techniques used by America and other countries, the implications of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership and sanctions, particularly their effectiveness in combatting Russia’s aggression.
At one point, deep into the discussion, Professor Wizner asked Ashby whether she thought Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, would resort to nuclear weapons.
“I’m not personally convinced he will unless he feels threatened,” Ashby said.
“There’s speculation that even if he makes that decision, the person at the end of the line won’t follow the orders,” she continued, referring to a false-alarm incident in 1983 at the height of the Cold War, when an early-warning radar malfunction nearly resulted in a Russian nuclear response. Thankfully, the man who oversaw the warning system recognized it as an error.
Dr. Ashby – who is the senior program officer for the Center for Russia and Europe at the U.S. Institute of Peace, a position she joined after seven years with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where she worked at the intersection of homeland security and international affairs – then went on to field questions from students.
The crowd asked what Ukraine’s future looks like after the war, which Dr. Ashby anticipated could be a years-long conflict.
“I think Ukraine is going to be stronger democratically,” she said. “I think people remember there was a lot of corruption in the government and that was a real challenge. I think you’re going to see an improved governance structure.”
Dr. Ashby ended the discussion with a quote from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has been lauded for on-the-ground leadership, often posting videos and doing interviews near Ukrainians fighting in the war.
“Let's build a country of opportunities, where everybody is equal before the law and where the rules of the game are honest and transparent,” she quoted. “And the same for everyone.”