Five Questions with Alexander Vindman

Three Years of War

Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman (U.S. Army, Ret.)

About Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman 

Lieutenant Colonel Doctor Alexander S. Vindman (U.S. Army, Ret.) was most recently the director for European affairs on the White House’s National Security Council. Prior to retiring from the U.S Army, he served as a foreign area officer with assignments in the U.S. embassies in Kyiv, Ukraine and Moscow, Russia, and for the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a political and military affairs officer. His insights are especially intriguing given his three years in Russia with regular contact with Russian military leaders and access to their defense and security apparatus. Lt. Col. Vindman’s knowledge of the inner workings of both the military and White House make him uniquely qualified as an expert on Putin’s Ukraine War.

Lt. Col. Vindman’s personal discipline was “born in discovering the unique passion that begins in excitement, develops in response to intense demands, inspires creative solutions, results in satisfaction, and leads to further challenges.” He is currently a Hauser Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School, a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and a board member of the Renew Democracy Initiative nonprofit.

A uniquely qualified expert who provided renowned testimony during former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, Lt. Col. Vindman travels the globe providing insights about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine and the geopolitical implications of the world’s most significant war since World War II.

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman

The Folly of Realism

AV Book 2

Here, Right Matters

substack

Why It Matters

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Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman | Booking & Contact Info | UTA Speakers

As the war in Ukraine rages on, the American people are grappling with how it will impact the world around us. Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a preeminent expert who can speak to the intricacies of what led to this crisis and the ramifications it will have in many sectors across the globe. 

His new book and instant *New York Times* bestseller, The Folly of Realism: How the West Deceived Itself About Russia and Betrayed Ukraine, is a chilling analysis of how Western indecision and apathy made the return of brutal Russian expansionism possible. Called an "penetrating take on American foreign relations" by Publishers Weekly and named one of Foreign Policy's Most Anticipated Books of 2025, Lt. Col. Vindman critiques short-term solutions-led policymaking and offers a new long-term, values-based approach that insists on the fundamentals of liberal democracy and a rules-based world order.

Born in what is now Ukraine, Lt. Col. Vindman moved to the U.S. with his father and brothers to start a new life. His father, who had initially fled the Soviet Union, believed in the importance of “not just starting over; but keep starting over.” His son would go on to have a distinguished career, holding esteemed positions in both the military and the White House. 

As the Assistant Army Attache in Russia, Lt. Col. Vindman gained a deep understanding of their defense and security apparatus. Because of his regular contact with Russian military and diplomatic leaders, Lt. Col. Vindman became a go-to source of knowledge on Russia and Ukraine for the Department of Defense, leading to positions at the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the National Security Council. At the Pentagon, Lt. Col. Vindman was tasked with analyzing the U.S. approach to competing with and defeating Russia across the spectrum of conflict. He authored a full-scale, cross-departmental strategy that covered all U.S. short- and long-term military policies and developed a plan to operationalize that strategy.

There is no better expert than Lt. Col. Vindman to provide timely insight on the Russia-Ukraine War and the long-term effects his latest war will have on the global economy and our rapidly transforming world.

These days, the world moves a mile-a-minute. Culture, Politics, Technology—constantly evolving, coinciding and diverging in ways both welcome and unexpected to chart the course of the 21st century. Our speakers stand at the vanguard of these movements, ready to guide audiences worldwide through the heat of the moment into the world of tomorrow.

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Q&A with Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman (Ret.)

Alexander Vindman talks new book, 'The Folly of Realism'

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman's full opening statement at President Trump's First Impeachment hearings