The West has shown unity and commitment to Ukraine that would not have been forecast a year ago. The post-Cold War institutions are proving resilient and Putin’s desire to divide the democratic Allies has paradoxically bolstered the unity and resolve within NATO, the European Union, and the international community writ large. Increasingly severe rounds of sanctions have surpassed anything seen by any other country as the global economy severs ties to the country. The Russian economy is in a nose-dive and its military seems to be running out of munitions.
What’s at stake in Ukraine? How will things continue to unfold? How does this end? These are a few of the many questions being asked since this phase of the war started in February. Building on an ad hoc series of virtual events since mid-February, the Tennessee World Affairs Council and the American Council on Germany are launching In Focus: Russia’s War in Ukraine to provide continued updates on and insights into the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine that has rocked the world order. Featuring conversations with U.S. and European experts, this series explores the unfolding conflict on the ground, the geostrategic implications, and the perspectives from the United States, Europe, Russia, and Ukraine.
Join us on July 7 at 1:00 pm ET/12:00 pm CT for a virtual conversation on the war in Ukraine with Ambassador John Kornblum, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs.
Ambassador John C. Kornblum has a long record of service in the United States and Europe both as a diplomat and as a businessman. He is recognized as an eminent expert on U.S.-European political and economic relations, in particular in Central and Eastern Europe. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany from 1997 to 2001. Before that, he occupied a number of high-level diplomatic posts, including U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European affairs, Special Envoy for the Dayton Peace Process, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Process), Deputy U.S. Ambassador to NATO, and U.S. minister and deputy commandant of forces in divided Berlin. From 2001 to 2009, he was chairman of Lazard Freres Germany. He currently serves as Senior Counsellor to the international law firm Noerr LLP and as a senior adviser to the worldwide consultancy Accenture. Mr. Kornblum has also served on a number of supervisory and advisory boards including those of Thyssen-Krupp, Technologies AG, Bayer AG, Russell Reynolds, and Motorola Europe. He is a member of the boards of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany, the American Academy in Berlin, the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, and of numerous nonprofit organizations on both sides of the Atlantic. He received a B.A. from Michigan State University in 1964, and he has been the recipient of many awards, including a Knights Cross of the Order of Merit from Germany and an Order of Merit from Austria.
