Berkeley Talks: Inna Sovsun on what’s next in Russia’s war on Ukraine
Ukrainian Member of Parliament Inna Sovsun discusses the impact of Russia's war on Ukraine and what comes next for the Ukrainian people
December 2, 2022
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On Nov. 8, Ukrainian Member of Parliament Inna Sovsun discussed the impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine and what comes next for the Ukrainian people.
In Berkeley Talks episode 156, Ukrainian Member of Parliament Inna Sovsun joins Yuriy Gorodnichenko, a professor of economics at UC Berkeley, and Janet Napolitano, a professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy and former secretary of homeland security, to discuss the impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine and what comes next for the Ukrainian people.
Sovsun began by describing an interaction between her and her 10-year-old son during an attack on Kyiv on Oct. 10:
“We woke up and I was about to take him to school when I read on the news that there were explosions in Kyiv,” says Sovsun. “At first, I thought, ‘OK, we can still hide in the bathroom.’ Then I heard some explosions myself and I realized I should probably go to the bomb shelter, which in our case is the closest metro station. … I was running around trying to gather stuff, like something to sit on and some water and something to eat because you don’t know how long that will last.
“I was running around and I’ve seen my son and he looks at me and he says, ‘Mom, am I going to die?’ … And I had to calm him down while my heart was bumping all the time. And I said to him, ‘Remember: Mom and Dad told you we’ll keep you safe. We’re doing everything fine. We are just going to the bomb shelter.'”
Listen to the full conversation in Berkeley Talks episode 156: “Inna Sovsun on what’s next in Russia’s war on Ukraine.”
This Nov. 8 event was co-sponsored by the Goldman School of Public Policy; the Center for Security in Politics; the Center for Studies in Higher Education; the Institute of Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies; and the Institute of European Studies.
Watch a video of the discussion below.
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