UW faculty in the news media weigh in on Putin's war on Ukraine

Leading up to and amid Putin’s war on Ukraine, UW faculty members have been lending their expertise on Russia, Ukraine, and other post-Soviet states to various news outlets, including Paul Castañeda Dower (Agricultural and Applied Economics), Ted Gerber (Sociology), Yoshiko M. Herrera (Political Science), Francine Hirsch (History), Andrey Ivanov (History, UW-Platteville), and Andrew Kydd (Political Science). Hear them weigh in on the Russian invasion of Ukraine in more than 100 media interviews and authored pieces below.

UPDATED: 2/6/24

February 28

Ukraine: One Year Later livestream with the Wisconsin Alumni Association, featuring Jim Gingras, Yoshiko Herrera, and Andrew Kydd

February 24

Gamesmanship and Brinksmanship: Interview with Andrew Kydd

Reliance on Alliance: NATO and the War in Ukraine: Interview with Jim Gingras

A Year of War in Ukraine: Interview with Yoshiko Herrera

December 14

“War Crimes: What are they? How can they be prosecuted?” by Francine Hirsch in Foreign Policy Association’s “Great Decisions 2023”

October 19

“The Russian Ukraine War” podcast interview with Yoshiko Herrera

August 2

“An Update on Ukraine” with Yoshiko Herrera, Andrew Kydd, and Mark Copelovitch for Wisconsin Alumni Association

“Nuremberg and Russia’s War Against Ukraine” (New Introduction) by Francine Hirsch for ASEEES NewsNet

June 28

“Russia is counting on the media to spread propaganda about show trials” by Francine Hirsch for The Washington Post

May 26

“Ukraine and Russia Are Both Looking to the Nuremberg Trials—But Finding Different Lessons in the History” by Francine Hirsch for TIME

May 19

“Putin Plays Politics Too” – The Gist podcast (Herrera)

May 12

“IRIS Centers host ‘Teaching About Ukraine’ Webinar” – UW-Madison International Division (Herrera; Nils Ringe, Professor of Political Science; Katherine Jensen, Assistant Professor of Sociology and International Studies; and Jeremy Stoddard, Professor and Faculty Chair of the Secondary Education Program).

May 5

“Breaking down Russia’s latest offensive in Ukraine” – News 3 Now / Channel 3000 (Herrera)

May 1

“Was Russia’s decision to cut off natural gas exports a mistake? Despite Western sanctions, the country still maintains powerful friends — for now” – VOX (Herrera)

April 30

“The Two Types of Patriotism: Understanding natural loyalty and manipulation” – Psychology Today (Hirsch)

April 28

“Historian says history is repeating itself, observing Ukraine” – The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle (Hirsch)

“Putin’s Russia has crossed a threshold: It now looks like 1933 Germany: I don’t use ‘totalitarianism’ lightly. But that’s what we’re witnessing” by Francine Hirsch for the Boston Globe

April 26

“WATCH: UW professor on nuclear threats in Ukraine, possibility of war crime charges” – News 3 Now / Channel 3000 (Kydd)

April 25

“Similarities Stain the Kremlin’s Warfare on Chechens and Ukrainians” – PONARS Eurasia (Wisconsin Russia Project postdoctoral scholar Marat Ilyasov and Yoshiko Herrera)

“The Russian Invasion of Ukraine” podcast interview with Yoshiko Herrera

April 22

“Peace talks unlikely in near future for Russia, Ukraine, UW expert says: Western nations must help stop this genocide, says UW expert Francine Hirsch” – The Badger Herald (Hirsch)

April 15

“What 7th graders want to know about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine” – Wisconsin Public Radio (Herrera)

April 14

“‘De-Ukrainization’ is genocide — Biden was right to sound the alarm” by Francine Hirsch for The Hill

April 13

“Op-Ed: Lessons from the Soviets on how to hold Russia accountable for war crimes” by Francine Hirsch with UW alum Eugene Finkel for the Los Angeles Times

April 1

“No, Putin is not actually achieving his goals in Ukraine” – VOX (Herrera)

March 31

“Over a River Strangely Rosy: Reading Poetry in Wartime” – Los Angeles Review of Books (Hirsch)

March 30

“9 big questions about Russia’s war in Ukraine, answered” – VOX (Herrera)

March 29

“The People Speak: What a YouTube Comment Feed Might Tell Us About Dissent in Putin’s Russia” by Francine Hirsch for The New Republic

March 22

“Why Americans have heightened interest in the war in Ukraine” – WKOW 27 News (Herrera)

March 20

“The Week That Was: All of Lawfare in One Post” – Lawfare (Hirsch)

March 18

“Reading Russian Media Between the Lines: On Kommersant’s ‘Nuremberg’ Photo” – NYU Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia (Hirsch)

March 17

“‘We could be looking at a phase in the war where a lot more people are being killed’: Ripon College webinars examine Ukraine conflict & its impact on commodity prices” – Commonwealth Ripon Press (Kydd)

“Inside Russia’s propaganda bubble: Where a war isn’t a war” – The Washington Post (UW-Madison graduate student Anton Shirikov)

March 16

“Banning all things Russian can be ‘counterproductive’, expert says” – Yahoo! News via KTVU (Herrera)

March 15

“From Sturgeon Bay to sanctioned: The shipbuilding story of the ‘Lady M’ superyacht” – PBS Madison (Kydd)

“The Memo: Zelensky virtual address raises pressure on Biden” – The Hill (Herrera)

“Strategies for Teaching About Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine” – American Political Science Foundation (Herrera)

March 14

“Putin’s Revised Foreign Agent Law Could Enable Mass Repression” by Francine Hirsch for the Lawfare blog

“Model Indictment for Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine: Prosecutor v. President Vladimir Putin” – Just Security (Hirsch)

March 13

“Sen. Ron Johnson’s tangled relationship with Ukraine and Russia” – The Chippewa Herald (Kydd)

March 10

“How Russia is spreading false narratives about the war” – PBS Newshour (UW PhD candidate Anton Shirikov)

“Understanding Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine with Dr. Yoshiko M. Herrera” – River Falls Public Library

March 9

“How the Soviet Union Helped Establish the Crime of Aggressive War” by Francine Hirsch for Just Security

March 7

“Latest developments in Russia’s war in Ukraine” Wisconsin Public Radio’s Central Time (Kydd)

March 4

“Talking Trade with Paul Castaneda Dower, assistant professor of agricultural and applied economics at UW-Madison” – WISBUSINESS (Castañeda Dower)

March 3

“War in Ukraine: The human costs of power politics” – The Daily Cardinal (Herrera)

“How the US and its allies can help Ukraine without starting World War III” – VOX (Herrera)

“Cost of Putin’s war in Ukraine is ‘very hard to hide’ in Russia: Expert” – Yahoo! News (Herrera)

March 2

“UW-Madison panel confronts the challenges of Ukraine-Russia Conflict” – News 3 Now / Channel 3000 (Gerber, Herrera)

“UW experts weigh in on Ukraine situation, say US will not go to war” – The Badger Herald (Geber, Herrera)

“UW-Madison panel confronts the challenges of Ukraine-Russia Conflict” – FOX 47 (Herrera)

“UW-Madison panel to confront challenges of Ukraine-Russia Conflict” – News 3 Now / Channel 3000 (Herrera)

“‘Slava Ukraini!’ Ukrainians in Madison watch and worry as Russia invades homeland” – The Cap Times (Herrera)

“The Invasion of Ukraine” – The UW Now: The Invasion of Ukraine (Herrera, Kydd)

“Ukraine and Russia: Fighting for the Border” – Exponent (Ivanov)

“Russia Invades Ukraine: A Public Forum”

Why did Russia invade Ukraine? What is the historical relationship between the two countries? How are people reacting in Russia? What are the implications for the U.S., NATO, and international security? What will be the impact of sanctions imposed on Russia? On March 2, 2022, a panel of UW experts addressed these questions: Mark Copelovitch, Yoshiko Herrera, and Jessica Weeks (Political Science); Andrey Ivanov (History, UW-Platteville); Kirill Ospovat (GNS+). Stream the panel presentations below.