As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues and horrific images, videos and reports from the frontlines pour in, the world is watching a bloody war play out in real-time.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to process, much less understand for many Americans, even the most avid TV news watchers among us.<\/p>\n
Two of the most basic questions include:<\/p>\n
Yes to both, says Irina Khmelko, a UC Foundation professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and native of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Khmelko joined three other instructors\u2014Lecturer R.J. Groh, Assistant Professor Saeid Golkar and Associate Professor Jessica Auchter\u2014from the Department of Political Science and Public Service for the panel discussion \u201cUkraine and Russia, What We Know So Far.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen humanity is at its worst and we see that when innocent people die,\u00a0 but you also see humanity at its best. You can see a lot of people coming together around the world. And it\u2019s also an opportunity for us\u2014as citizens, as scholars, as students\u2014to bring this world together and actually discover who we are as humans,\u201d said Khmelko, recently interviewed by local media<\/a> about her family ties in the war-torn country.<\/p>\n