16th February 2023 - The second MiDAS Roundtable Talk entitled "Russia - Ukraine Conflict On Russia Perspective" was successfully organised by the Maritime Security Center, Malaysian Institute of Defence and Security (MiDAS).
The roundtable table talk garnered a lot of attention with more than 30 participation from Ministry of Defence, Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF)and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The roundtable talk was lead by the Chief Executive of MiDAS and officers from the Embassy of the Russian Federation Capt. (N) Victor Shkulepa, Russia Defence Attache. He was accompanied by Col Andrei Budkin (Deputy Defence Attache), Mr Andrey Osokin (Political Counsellor), and Mrs Olga N. Golovko (Second Secretary). The talk provide opportunities for Malaysia defence policy maker and practioners to further understand the situation between Russia-Ukraine.
The roundtable talk started with the Chief Executive of MiDAS summarising what has been portrayed in mainstream media regarding the Russia-Ukraine War. In response Capt. (N) Victor rectified that it is not a war and that Russia is only conducting a special operation to safeguard its people. Further explanation were also provided by the Russian delegation in term of Russia-Ukraine history as well as subsequent incident such as the 2008 Bucharest Summit, the signing of Minsk Agreement and Russia unsuccessful talk with Ukraine in 2021. The Russian delegation also provided explanation behind the breakdown of the talk between both countries and the current situation on the ground in the city of Donetsk as well as the Donbas region.
The roundtable talk was actively participated with numerous questions asked and answered between the delegations and participants. The roundtable talk was successfully concluded with the signing of the MiDAS visitor book, exchange of memento and a photo session.
