Lecture
Major Mike Shearer
Wednesday 13.05.2026
Major Mike Shearer
Ukraine and Putin’s Special Military Operation: Why, Who’s Winning, and How Will It End?
Wednesday 13.05.2026
How to watch
This lecture starts on 13 May at 7:00pm (UK).
Summary
Putin framed his special military operation as a defensive measure to “demilitarise and denazify” Ukraine. He claimed he had to protect Russian speakers in the Donbas region from the “genocide” being perpetrated by the Kyiv government. Notwithstanding, others view the invasion as an attempt to reassert Russian influence over former Soviet republics and to prevent Ukraine and others from integrating with the EU and NATO. How’s that working out?
Major Mike Shearer
Mike Shearer is a former career cavalry soldier who saw service during the ‘Cold War’ in Germany and active service in the Gulf, Cyprus, Bosnia and Northern Ireland. In 2007, Mike was the Director of the Press Information Centre and later, Head of Strategic Influence and Communications for the British Military, working from the American Embassy in Baghdad. After leaving the Army, Mike worked in the Defence Directorate for Communications in the Ministry of Defence as the principal plans officer for Afghanistan and the ministry communications lead for the NATO Summit. In 2016, Mike returned to Iraq to join the battle against Islamic State, running influence operations out of Baghdad and Iraqi Kurdistan.