Live at the Southbank Centre - The War in Ukraine: How Does it End?

In partnership with the Southbank Centre

With the Russian army struggling to make gains in Eastern Ukraine and the devastating impact of the war taking its toll, many are wondering if Vladamir Putin’s war may be nearing an end point. Some military experts believe a full Ukrainian victory is possible while others say Zelensky will eventually have to trade land for peace and negotiate with Putin. There is also the view that the conflict could stay ‘frozen’ for years without any clear conclusion.

On March 23 Intelligence Squared and the Southbank Centre will bring together leading experts to debate and discuss the possible paths to peace in Ukraine and the likelihood of each being achieved.

Speakers for the motion

Orlando Figes

Award-winning historian and author of The Story of Russia
Max Hastings

Military historian, journalist and broadcaster
Anne Applebaum

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian whose new book is Autocracy, Inc: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World.
Olesya Khromeychuk

Ukrainian historian and writer

Chair

Clive Myrie

Award-winning journalist and BBC News presenter

Speakers are subject to change.

Speakers

Orlando Figes

Award-winning historian and author of The Story of Russia

Award-winning author and historian, who has held teaching posts at Birkbeck College, University of London and Trinity College, University of Cambridge. He is the bestselling author of nine books on Russian and European history, including A People’s Tragedy, Natasha’s Dance and The Story of Russia. His books have been translated into over 30 languages.

Max Hastings

Military historian, journalist and broadcaster

Author, journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in every British national newspaper. He has written thirty books and received awards for his books and journalism, the most recent being a 2019 Arthur Ross Literary Award from the US Council on Foreign Relations for Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy 1945-1975. He was editor, then editor-in-chief, of The Daily Telegraph from 1986-1995, and of The Evening Standard 1996-2002. His forthcoming book is Operation Biting: The 1942 Assault to Capture Hitler's Radar.

Anne Applebaum

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian whose new book is Autocracy, Inc: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World.

Historian and political commentator. Her books include Gulag: A History, which won the Pulitzer Prize, Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956, which won the Cundill Prize and Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine which won the Lionel Gelber and Duff Cooper prizes. She is a columnist at The Atlantic and a senior fellow of the Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. She divides her time between Britain, Poland and the USA. Her latest book is Twilight of Democracy: The Failure of Politics and the Parting of Friends.

Olesya Khromeychuk

Ukrainian historian and writer

Ukrainian historian and writer. She has taught the history of East-Central Europe at the University of Cambridge, University College London, the University of East Anglia, and King’s College London. She is author of A Loss. The Story of a Dead Soldier Told by His Sister and ‘Undetermined’ Ukrainians. She is currently the Director of the Ukrainian Institute London.

Chair

Clive Myrie

Award-winning journalist and BBC News presenter

Award-winning journalist and BBC News presenter who reported from Ukraine in the early months of the Russian invasion in 2022. He has served as the BBC’s Asia, Africa, Washington and Europe Correspondent. As well as presenting the One, Six and Ten 0’Clock News bulletins on BBC One, and hosting news shows on the BBC News Channel, he continues to travel the world as a reporter, and makes features and programmes for Panorama, Newsnight and Radio 4. In 2021 he took over as host of the long running BBC series, Mastermind.

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