How far will Putin go against Ukraine?

Russia continued escalating pressure on Ukraine on Monday as President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine and ordered in additional troops under the guise of peacekeeping. In a live Twitter Spaces conversation, Brookings experts Steve Pifer, Angela Stent, and Constanze Stelzenmüller assessed Putin’s goals for Ukraine and beyond, and what the Biden administration and European leaders might do to avoid some of the worst possible outcomes.

Related material: 

• Russia’s assault on Ukraine and the international order: Assessing and bolstering the Western response
• The Putin doctrine
• What we can expect after Putin’s conquest of Ukraine
• The Kremlin paints itself into a corner
• Scholz holds his ground in Putin’s den

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Thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Raman Preet Kaur, and Fred Dews for their support.

Suzanne Maloney

Vice President and Director - Foreign Policy

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Steven Pifer

Nonresident Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center on the United States and Europe, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Initiative

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Constanze Stelzenmüller

Director - Center on the United States and Europe

Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center on the United States and Europe

Fritz Stern Chair on Germany and trans-Atlantic Relations

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Angela Stent

Nonresident Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center on the United States and Europe

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