The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine entered its 3rd year and an end still seems to be far away. While the destruction of infrastructure is ongoing, millions of people were forced to flee, the population is traumatized and, on the battlefield, there seems to be a stalemate. Yet, the EU - countries are still voicing their support for Ukraine. However, in the US the narrative is slowly shifting towards the necessity of entering negotiations in light of US elections later this year. On the other hand, the sanctions regime is still upheld and, at least in the short-term, the expected results have not materialized. How could an end to the war look like? Who could be negotiating considering Russia still didn`t abandon its maximalist demands. What role has the so-called global South and how is the economic relationship between Russia and China developing? What does the destruction and the loss of population mean in the long-term for Ukrainian economy and what role does the EU-perspective man in this context? With the global shift of attention towards the war of Israel against Hamas in Gaza, is peace still possible in Ukraine? Guests: Gerhard Mangott is Professor of Political Science at the Department of Political Science at the University of Innsbruck since October 2015. Specialization on International Relations and Security in the Post-Soviet region. He is scientific Adviser on Post-Soviet Affairs at the Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP) in Vienna February 2009-2015 October and from1991–June 2008 served as Permanent and Senior Research Fellow on Eastern Europe and the former USSR at the Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP) in Vienna. He is also a Lecturer at the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna since 1995 and a Lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences in Vienna since 2004. Richard Grieveson is Deputy Director at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw) and a member of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG). He coordinates wiiw’s analysis and forecasting of Central, East and Southeast Europe. In addition, he works on European policy analysis, European integration, EU enlargement, economic history, and political economy. He holds degrees from the universities of Cambridge, Vienna and Birkbeck. Previously he worked as a Director in the Emerging Europe Sovereigns team at Fitch Ratings and Regional Manager in the Europe team at the Economist Intelligence Unit. Moderation: Stephanie Fenkart, IIP Director.

The episode was recorded on 27 March 2024.