Lecture 'Milestones Toward an Independent Ukraine, 1944-2022'

This lecture covers Ukraine's quest for independence and pro-Western orientation, starting with the Ukrainian Insurgent Army's fight against Soviet forces in 1944-50. It continues with the Ukrainian dissident movement in the 1960s and the formation of environmental and political movements following the Chornobyl disaster. The first mass gathering on the Maidan in 1990 and the Orange Revolution of 2004 led to the more dramatic Maidan protests of 2013-14, which unseated the pro-Russian presidency of Yanukovych. These protests put Ukraine on a path away from Russia and towards the West, leading to the Russian annexation of Crimea and war in the Donbas.

The lecture also discusses the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which threatens Ukraine's aspirations and its future as an independent state but has also catalyzed unity among Ukrainians and strengthened their desire to become an EU member.