Saturday, February 21, 2026
Special Edition: 4 Years of War: How Will Russia’s Invasion End?
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As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is about to enter its fourth year, we’re asking: What are the stakes right now? Is a peace deal actually possible? And what would a just and lasting end to this war really look like?
Dr. Kristina Hook, an expert on Ukrainian-Russian relations and conflict management professor at Kennesaw State University, joins us to unpack what’s happening behind the scenes of the latest peace talks, which pressure points actually matter for Vladimir Putin, and why many Ukrainians say the bigger question isn’t when the war ends — but how it ends.
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Guest: Kristina Hook
Dr. Kristina Hook is an Assistant Professor of Conflict Management at Kennesaw State University’s School of Conflict Management, Peacebuilding, and Development. A former Fulbright scholar to Ukraine, she has been conducting research and extended fieldwork across Ukraine since 2015.
Her expertise includes historical and contemporary Ukrainian-Russian relations and topics of civilian protection including genocides and mass atrocities. Her book on the Russia-Ukraine war, told through interviews across Ukraine since Russia first invaded in 2014, is forthcoming with Georgetown University Press (Fall 2026). Her analysis has appeared in scholarly and public platforms, including Foreign Affairs, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Foreign Policy, CNN, USA Today, Washington Post, and elsewhere.
Hook received her joint PhD in anthropology and peace studies from the University of Notre Dame. She previously served as a U.S. Department of State policy adviser for mass atrocity prevention, as a nonresident research fellow at the Marine Corps University, and as a U.S. Presidential Management Fellow. She is also presently a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center.
Be sure to check out Dr. Kristina Hook’s new book,When the Ukrainian Sun Rises: From the Holodomor to the Frontlines in Moscow's Century of Violence, coming November 2026
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