On February 24th, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. This event not only marked the collapse of a painstakingly built global security architecture and destroyed the lives and livelihoods of millions of civilians in the heart of Europe, it also put the world on the brink of the largest nuclear, humanitarian, and ecological catastrophe since WWII.

On 13 April, ISET Policy Institute hosted an event: “War in Ukraine: Challenges, Risks, and Responses of the Georgian Economy”. The meeting brought together the policy community – including think tanks, experts, public and private sector leaders, and various development partners.

ISET Policy Institute will be hosting an event War in Ukraine: Challenges, Risks, and Responses of Georgian Economy, to be held on April 13 from 10:00-12:30, that will bring together the policy community, experts, and private sector leaders, and development partners.

The war in Ukraine had just begun when I wrote (on the ISET Policy Institute's website and in the Georgian Times) that the present events in Ukraine offer the world a chance to become better. I could not have predicted at the time that hostilities would unfold in such a disastrous fashion or scale, nor could I have anticipated that, following four weeks of the war, we would witness an even larger and, I would say unimaginable human and global catastrophe.

During such challenging times, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict escalates daily and threatens the lives of thousands, as well as the wellbeing of everyone around the world, having experienced the horror of war, we Georgians especially feel the pain of the Ukrainians.