Mr Michael Kugelman

Director of the Asia Program, Wilson Center, USA

On 24 February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine. This breach of Ukraine's national sovereignty has resulted in the largest conventional military attack in Europe since World War II. The invasion has sparked a catastrophic humanitarian and security crisis on European soil, and an economic and political crisis, globally. In this episode, Ms Ramita Iyer, Research Analyst, ISAS, spoke to Mr Michael Kugelman, Deputy Director of the Asia Program and Senior Associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center, United States, about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its implications for the South Asian subcontinent. Mr Kugelman shared on Russia's motivations behind the invasion, impact of economic sanctions for South Asia, reasons for divided responses of South Asian countries, and the growing Sino-Russian axis and its implications for the regional and global balance of power.