October 21, 2026, 9:01 am
AIIA ACT invites you to join us for a presentation by Jon Richardson, Visiting Fellow at the ANU Centre for European Studies.
The lands of southern and eastern Ukraine now occupied by Russia cover one fifth of its territory and were home to nearly twelve million people before 2014. Jon Richardson will examine the occupied territories’ role and significance in the war – past, present and future.
Southeastern Ukraine was the original launchpad and a key bone of contention in the lead up to the invasions of 2014 and 2022. The current occupation regime behind the Russian lines has been largely hidden from outside view. But extensive research has revealed a brutal and larcenous system of rule that some scholars have described as genocide, given its aim of wiping out Ukrainian identity and culture in areas under its control. The occupied territories will also be crucial to any outcome of the war, military or diplomatic, including often mooted settlements based on a frozen conflict.
Content Creator – Australian Institute of International Affairs
