Dr. Kudelia discussed his forthcoming book at the University of Ottawa

During the public conversation with the University of Ottawa professor Dominique Arel and Tufts University professor Oxana Shevel, Dr. Kudelia recounted his field research and data collection process in Eastern Ukraine and presented the main arguments of his forthcoming book Seize the City, Undo the State: The Inception of Russia’s War on Ukraine. 

The book explains how the limited Russian intervention in Eastern Ukraine through a group of irregular fighters in April 2014 triggered a secessionist insurgency and produced a sustained armed conflict, which served as a pretext for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Apart from establishing the impact of Russia’s actors, the book examines the roles played at the initial conflict stage by local actors, such as political operatives, civic activists, municipal officials, and business entrepreneurs. 

The book is scheduled to be published by Oxford University Press in February 2025.