Photo credit: Ella Hagen/Forsvaret.
On 26 May, the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies (IFS) and UKRAINETT hosted a lunch seminar at Sentralen in Oslo, focusing on Russia’s occupation policies in Ukraine. The event brought together experts and attendees, both in person and online, to explore critical yet often underreported dimension of the ongoing war.
The seminar opened with a welcome by IFS Director Kjell Inge Bjerga, followed by insightful presentations from:
- Jaroslava Barbieri (Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham), who examined the evolution of Russia’s occupation policy.
- Illia Riepin (Political Scientist and Columnist in Political Philosophy & AI), who discussed Ukrainian resistance in temporarily occupied territories.
- Karolina Hird (Russia Team Deputy Lead and Analyst at the Institute for the Study of War), who presented studies on the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.
Chaired by Associate Professor Håvard Bækken (IFS), the event concluded with a dynamic conversation and Q&A session, offering attendees a deeper understanding of the mechanisms and consequences of occupation, as well as the resilience of Ukrainian communities.
A seminar recording is available for those who could not attend live. You may find the recording here: