The Ukraine invasion: the political, economic and humanitarian costs

With Thursday's full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces, the world order has been shaken. Hours after the invasion began, President Joe Biden announced a second tranche of sanctions against Russia, which include measures against several more Russian banks and wealthy individuals. He asserted that the NATO alliance has never been stronger, and he warned that there will be hardships to bear throughout the world. There are reports this morning that Russian forces are closing in on Kyiv, the capital and Ukraine’s largest city. Today, analysis and reflections on the invasion. Tom's first guest is Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon, a scholar of Eastern Europe, Russia, and Ukraine. She holds a Master’s degree in Regional Studies from Harvard University, and she’s a Penn PhD Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon joins us on Zoom from Richmond, Virginia. Then, Tom speaks with Eric Hontz, a Baltimore businessman who works in Ukraine, and whose wife was born and raised in the Donbass region of Ukraine. Mr. Hontz, who serves as the Regional Director for Europe and Eurasia at CIPE, the Center for International Private Enterprise in Washington, DC, discusses the economic and personal impacts of the Russian aggression. Eric Hontz joins us on Zoom from Baltimore.Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.