In this article I discuss an approach to teaching about the Russian war in Ukraine that uses the war as a focal point for teaching about topics in comparative politics and international relations. I discuss the pedagogical advantages for political science teaching, including meeting the interests of students, introducing students to theories in political science, and re-centering courses on the region away from Russia. I then discuss how the various political science topics and research questions are related to the war, and I conclude with a section on assignments and methods for student engagement that work well with this type of course.