On February 24th, it will be three years since Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine. What Russia expected to be a quick victory has turned into a bloody conflict, in which the Russians have already lost more than half a million soldiers, while the Ukrainians continue to hold their ground – albeit pushed onto the defensive.

Meanwhile, the hybrid war that Russia is waging against the rest of Europe is becoming increasingly visible: ships sailing under foreign flags destroying critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, disinformation sowing chaos during elections in Moldova, and secret agents preparing (so far foiled) attacks on European airplanes and citizens. The conflict with Russia intensifies, but are we fully aware of the threat when only Ukrainians are doing the actual fighting?

During this evening, organised by de Balie, Pekka Kallioniemi, a Finnish expert on social media and disinformation, will reflect on the situation on the ground in Ukraine and examine the broader European context. What challenges lie ahead for both Ukraine and Europe in the coming period? How are these challenges affected by the growing momentum of radical right parties in the West? And is disinformation from the Kremlin being given free rein now that Meta and X have removed their fact-checkers?