Since late 2021, Russia has been building up a substantial military force along its border with Ukraine. Combined with increasingly bellicose rhetoric and demands for Western concessions from the Kremlin, more and more analysts consider an escalation of the conflict between Kyiv and Moscow to be inevitable. While Russia has been clear in its political objectives, there is continued uncertainty about its military plans, which could range from punitive artillery and air strikes to a full-blown invasion of eastern Ukraine. In his talk, Rob Lee will offer an expert assessment of the buildup thus far and explore how the situation might develop.
Rob Lee is a doctoral candidate at King's College London and a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia. He served in the US Marines as an infantry officer. Lee has also worked in Russia, as an Alfa Fellow and a visiting fellow at the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, a defence think tank in Moscow. He holds a BA in history and world politics from Hamilton College and a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia