On June 5, the day after Ukraine’s long-delayed spring counteroffensive began, Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haass said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that a ceasefire in the war, with Ukraine not recovering most of its territory, is inevitable.
Haass’s position reflects the views of other national security experts who have drifted from the dominant narrative about the Russia-Ukraine war, arguing that both military and political necessities will force Ukraine to admit it cannot attain victory and accept a ceasefire.
For example, last month, left-wing U.S. foreign policy experts and peace activists ran ads in The New York Times and The Hill calling for an end to the war and peace talks. Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said in April that a ceasefire was in everyone’s interests. GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has called on Ukraine to make “major concessions” to Russia to end the war so the U.S. can focus on the threat from China.
Former President Donald Trump has also called for a swift end to the war and has said he will accomplish this in 24 hours if he wins the 2024 presidential election.
On the other hand, Ukrainian officials, the Biden administration, and many American experts continue to insist that Ukraine can “win” the war with Russia if the U.S. and our allies provide it with the military aid it needs. Winning, in their view, means Russian forces leave Ukrainian territory and Ukraine takes back all its territory, including Crimea, which Russia seized in
