Spring 2025 Crisis Simulation - Russia and Ukraine Russia and Ukraine

The Patterson School will be performing its annual crisis negotiation exercise February 21st and 22nd. This year, the theme is Russia and Ukraine, with the simulation occur at the same time as real-world negotiations on the topic. Students will be split into country delegations, following diplomatic procedure and talking with real-life diplomatic negotiators in the process. 

Summary

After days of confusion during the Munich Security Conference left the future of Ukraine and of European security in doubt, a plan for talks to end the war began to emerge. The announcement established a UN-sponsored multilateral negotiation session that would take place in early April under the auspices of the Republic of Turkei in Ankara. The negotiations would take place in two stages, separated by a two week pause to allow the political process to unfold in the home countries of the participants.  

The talks are expected to lay the foundations for an end to the Russia-Ukraine War. The participants would include the United States, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, the People’s Republic of China, the host Republic of Turkei, and a French-led European team that also includes delegates from Germany, Poland, and Italy.  The first negotiation session, which will take place on April 7, 2025. A second negotiating session will take place on April 21, 2025, also in Ankara.

The simulation begins on Monday, March 10, four weeks before the beginning of the peace talks. The simulation will proceed with five rounds.  Rounds 1, 2, and 4 will be remote (referred to hereafter as “Adjudication Rounds”), while Rounds 3 and 5 will involve in-person negotiation.  While the simulation has tracked real world events thus far, upon receipt of this document (12pm, Saturday, February 15), reality and simulation officially diverge; if a meteor hits Moscow on Sunday in the real world, it will not be reflected in the simulation.