The lecture “Why Ukraine Matters: At the Frontline of Europe`s Forgotten War and Humanitarian Crisis” by Dr Rainer-Elk Anders, will offer an update from the frontline of the on-going armed conflict. Dr Rainer-Elk Anders, a senior lecturer in sociology at Staffordshire University and the Director of the Applied University Research Centre I-Act, has recently come back from the war-torn area in the east of Ukraine; he has up to 1000 photos documenting the latest events to share with his audience.Combining recent film footage and photos with thorough analysis, this presentation will provide a close first-hand account of the current situation in eastern Ukraine, in particular of the humanitarian crisis children and their families are facing in the war zone, with a focus on Marinka, Krasnohorivka and Avdiivka; the role of the civil volunteer movement and their support of regular and volunteer armed forces in ATO; and the actual situation of regular army and volunteer battalions on the front-line. The presentation will conclude with an analysis of the implications of the war in Ukraine for European and British security, and why a response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine matters.