Jeffrey Owens will be presenting his third interactive lecture, open to the public, at the Central Ohio Military Museum on Saturday morning, Jan. 13 at 10 a.m. He will be covering what he calls the Expanding Global Crisis, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and is now developing into a global conflict involving North Korea, Iran, Hamas, Israel.

Jeffrey Owens is a Jeffersonville native, a 1995 graduate of Miami Trace High School and 2000 graduate of Ohio University. As a life-long history buff, Owens published “Victory In Europe; A People’s History of the Second World War,” a more than 700-page analysis of World War 2 in Europe in 2015.

Owens is also an experienced history lecturer. In addition to the Ohio Military Museum, he has also hosted more than a dozen educational symposiums on a variety of military history topics at the Grove City Library.

Once Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Owens again took up the pen and has written 30 detailed analyses about the war which have been posted to multiple social media outlets. Using in-depth research, his experience as a writer, a general knowledge of the geopolitics of the region and love of history, Owens has provided a unique coverage of the war from multiple angles.

Owens is grateful to the Record-Herald, the Times Gazette of Hillsboro, as well as the Wilmington News Journal, for turning more than 15 of his essays into articles, whose readerships have expressed considerable appreciation for his work.

Additionally, many Ukrainians, both in the U.S. and abroad have contacted Owens expressing their immense gratitude for his writing. The Ukrainian Cultural Association of Ohio has described Owens not only as “one of our most steadfast supporters,” but also “one of our most respected American Allies.” Additionally, his two most recent essays have been inspired by or dedicated to Ukrainian contacts of his.

“Will Democracy be Defended” was dedicated to Victoria Amelina, a celebrated Ukrainian writer and documenter of Russian war crimes who was tragically murdered by a Russian missile strike on the Ria Pizzeria Lounge in Kramatorsk on June 27, 2023. Owens knew Amelina through social media, interacted with her multiple times, read much of her work and shared some of his writing with her.

“The Expanding Global Crisis” was inspired by a conversation he had with Iryna Kopanytsia, the CEO of White Ribbon Ukraine, on Dec. 10 while she was on a return flight to Europe from the United States. Kopanytsia traveled to the U.S. along with many Ukrainians to meet with American leadership on the importance of continuing to support Ukraine. Her trip however was disappointing and she expressed to Owens that she felt Americans had grown disgruntled with the war and didn’t understand how much America’s security was connected to it. Through this essay, Owens was inspired to continue Kopanytsia’s work, and wrote directly to an American target audience, detailing not only Russia’s war aims which go far beyond Ukraine, but also the far reaching implications for U.S. security if Ukraine were to be abandoned.

In his first lecture at the Central Ohio Military Museum in March, Owens delivered a comprehensive account of Ukrainian history along with an overview of major military events up until that point in Russia’s full-scale invasion. His second presentation focused on Ukraine’s counteroffensive. Through Power Point maps, he took his attendees on virtual tours of Russian defensive fortifications across much of Zaporizhia and Kherson, as well as Ukrainian advances in towns such as Staromaiorske, Urozhaine and Robotyne.

At this third presentation, Owens will be zooming out to speak of Russia’s long-term goals in invading Ukraine. He will discuss the global implications of the war and its connection to the expanding conflict in the Middle East and growing instability with North Korea and China. Attendees will view power point maps detailing the shipping of North Korean arms to Russia as well as the intricate connection between Iran and scores of militant Islamic militias across the Middle East constituting the “axis of resistance.”

Reception at his first two presentations was fantastic in which the Ukrainian Cultural Association of Ohio collectively raised nearly $700 from both the museum and attendees for medical supplies for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Owens said he is excited for the opportunity to host this interactive presentation and lecture at the Central Ohio Military Museum, which is located at 1010 High Street in Harrisburg, Ohio. Owens’s presentation will be followed by a luncheon with further opportunity for interaction, questions, and to tour the museum.