The conflict in Ukraine has deep domestic roots. A third of the population, primarily in the East and South, regards its own Russian cultural identity as entirely compatible with a Ukrainian civic identity. The state’s reluctance to recognize this ethnos as a legitimate part of the modern Ukrainian nation, has created a tragic cycle that entangles Ukrainian politics. The Tragedy of Ukraine argues that in order to untangle the conflict within the Ukraine, it must be addressed on an emotional, as well as institutional level. It draws on Richard Ned Lebow’s ‘tragic vision of politics’ and on classical Greek tragedy to assist in understanding the persistence of this conflict. Classical Greek tragedy once served as a mechanism in Athenian society to heal deep social trauma and create more just institutions. The Tragedy of Ukraine reflects on the ways in which ancient Greek tragedy can help us rethink civic conflict and polarization, as well as model ways of healing deep social divisions.

With its strategic location of the existing power lines and economic potential, Ukraine, as one of the most important countries of Eastern Europe, is one of the pilot countries with which Turkey aims to develop its relations in an ‘exemplary manner’. Besides, since Ankara and Kiev, share common values and priorities within the framework of preserving stability in the region, the Black Sea neighborhood adds another dimension to bilateral relations. With the High-Level Strategic Council founded in May 2010, it is aimed to improve political and economic relations. Moreover with visa exemption agreement, which is going to be signed in December 2011, will not only increase tourism activities but also expected to intensify the mutual inter-communal relations. Even though there is a consensus on accelerating existing relations in which high level visits frequently occur, the effective potential is not available yet due to differences in political agendas. This has both structural and cyclical reasons. In this study, before proceeding to the analysis of Turkey-Ukraine relations, Ukraine’s economic structure and political process is going to be evaluated in a comprehensive way, for better understanding of the Ukraine politics as well as bilateral relations.

Has the US strategy in Ukraine reached an impasse? What is the Russian conduct of military operations? When will the Ukrainian counter-offensive take place? Does Western weaponry really make a difference in Ukraine? Who are the winners of this war? What changes in the world are we witnessing since February 24, 2022? What is the reality of the losses on the Ukrainian and Russian sides? Can Western industry compete with Russian industry in Ukraine? Why is a negotiated solution not being sought? How is our perception of the conflit serving Ukraine? To answer these questions and many others, Jacques Baud relies on information from Western intelligence services and American documents that were leaked in April 2023. After the best-sellers Putin, Game Master? and Operation Z, both works praised world-wide, Baud returns to the war in Ukraine by analyzing the facts and nothing but the facts. Whether one is for or against the position of Ukraine, one must nevertheless deal with the field of operations and to analyze what is happening there. This is the only way to find a path to peace—because peace will not come by relying on illusions. Jacques Baud was a member of the Swiss strategic intelligence, a specialist in Eastern European countries and a former head of the United Nations peace operations doctrine. In NATO, he was involved in programs in Ukraine, including after the Mayan revolution in 2014 and 2017. In addition to his major works on the conflit in Ukraine, he is the author of several books on intelligence, war, and terrorism, including Governing by Fake News, Defeating Jihadist Terrorism, and The Navalny Affair, all published by Max Milo.

Recent events in Ukraine and Russia and the subsequent incorporation of Crimea into the Russian state, with the support of some circles of inhabitants of the peninsula, have shown that the desire of people to belong to the Western part of Europe should not automatically be assumed. Discussing different perceptions of the Ukrainian-Russian war in neighbouring countries, this book offers an analysis of the conflicts and issues connected with the shifting of the border regions of Russia and Ukraine to show how ’material’ and ’psychological’ borders are never completely stable ideas. The contributors – historians, sociologists, anthropologists and political scientists from across Europe – use an interdisciplinary and comparative approach to explore the different national and transnational perceptions of a possible future role for Russia.