Registration REQUIRED by 4pm on February 2, 2026 in order to attend this event.
Please join the Harriman Institute and the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies for a conversation with Alexandra Vacroux and Yevhen Malik.
Join us for an in-depth conversation on how wars end—and what the war termination literature can tell us about possible pathways for ending Russia’s war against Ukraine. Drawing on both scholarly analysis and lived experience, the discussion will examine historical patterns of war termination, the conditions under which negotiations succeed or fail, and how these insights apply to the current war.
The event brings together Yevhen Malik, a veteran of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with extensive frontline and leadership experience, including prolonged captivity in Russia, and Dr. Alexandra Vacroux, former executive director of the Davis Center at Harvard University and now vice president for strategic engagement at the Kyiv School of Economics. Together, they will assess the current state of negotiations among Ukraine, Russia, and the United States, and reflect on the political, military, and human factors shaping prospects for an end to the war.
Yevhen Malik is a former Marine Infantry sergeant in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and a veteran of the Ukraine War. He has extensive frontline experience, having fought in Mariupol and across the Joint Forces Operation zone, where he led combat missions, amphibious operations, and coordinated tactical planning under extreme conditions. From April 2022 to September 2024, he endured captivity in Russia. Malik holds degrees in law, public administration, and a reserve officer qualification. He is recognized for his expertise in military leadership, crisis management, and strategic and tactical planning. He is a strong advocate for Ukraine’s armed forces and veterans.
Dr. Alexandra Vacroux served for 15 years as the Davis Center’s executive director. Her scholarly work addresses Russian and Eurasian policy issues, including the war in Ukraine. In her role as vice president for strategic engagement at the Kyiv School of Economics, Alexandra helps the leading Ukrainian educational institution expand its engagement with top faculty, schools, and programs around the world, further strengthening KSE as a platform for nurturing Ukraine’s human capital as the country recovers from Russia’s invasion. Alexandra lived in Moscow from 1992 to 2004. While there she was a consultant for the Russian Privatization Agency, partner and head of sales at the Brunswick Warburg investment bank, and an active member of the board of United Way Moscow. She holds a Ph.D. in government from Harvard University.
Featured Image: Benjamin D Applebaum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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