CFR Resources on Ukraine

This week, as the United States and Russia met in Riyadh and European leaders convened in Paris, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and Foreign Affairs offer resources—including expert voices and policy briefs—on the Russia-Ukraine war and the path ahead.

CFR’s Special Initiative on Securing Ukraine’s Future provides timely, informed analysis and practical policy recommendations for U.S. and other policymakers.

Contact [email protected] to connect with CFR’s president, fellows, or authors.

The Art of a Good Deal: Ukraine’s Strategic Economic Opportunity for the United States

CFR Senior Fellow Heidi Crebo-Rediker argues that as President Donald Trump pursues a quick end to the war in Ukraine, he should recognize that maximizing Ukraine’s security in any negotiated settlement is in the long-term economic interests of the United States. Read more about how Ukraine’s economic and strategic potential aligns with U.S. interests in this policy brief

Ukraine, NATO, and War Termination

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Eric Ciaramella and Eric Green argue that it is imperative that the United States safeguards Ukraine’s postwar sovereignty and security while signaling to Russia and other adversaries that attempting to change borders through force will incur a heavy cost. Read more in this report

Michael Froman on MSNBC’s Morning Joe

“The Europeans ultimately are going to have to play a much more significant role in Ukraine than the United States going forward,” said CFR President Michael Froman. Watch the interview

Partners in Peacemaking: How the United States and Europe Can End the War in Ukraine

CFR Senior Fellow for Europe Liana Fix asserts that although it would be easy for Trump to exclude his European counterparts from peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, involving European partners is necessary to secure a better deal for the United States. Read more about working with Europe to end the war in Ukraine in this policy brief and in Fix’s recent National Interest op-ed

Putin’s Ukraine: The End of War and the Price of Russian Occupation

Ukrainian journalist Nataliya Gumenyuk explains how Ukraine taking a cease-fire deal is a scenario that “diverges sharply from the victory plan that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky outlined in the fall of 2024. And many Ukrainians themselves are deeply skeptical of a settlement, saying that no deal is better than a bad deal.” Read more in this Foreign Affairs article

Defending Ukraine in the Absence of NATO Security Guarantees

A cease-fire deal with Russia will not ensure Ukraine’s long-term security. CFR General John W. Vessey Senior Fellow for Conflict Prevention and Director of the Center for Preventive Action Paul Stares and Brookings Institution Senior Fellow and Director of Research Michael O’Hanlon argue for a multilayered defense system that could prevent another invasion while being financially sustainable for Ukraine’s allies. Read more about defending Ukraine in this report

Michael Froman on CNBC’s Squawk Box

“I think there could be an armistice, and I think there could be a defense system that deters Russia from coming back in. But in terms of the conflict, the conflict is going to be there for a long time,” said Froman. Watch the interview

Toward a Settlement of the Russia-Ukraine War

To bring Russia to the negotiating table and end the war in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin needs to believe time is no longer on his side. CFR Distinguished Fellow Thomas Graham explains what the Trump administration needs to do to make that happen. Read more on the process behind a Russia-Ukraine settlement in this policy brief

The Ukraine Initiative is part of the Wachenheim Program on Peace and Security and made possible by the generous support of the Sue and Edgar Wachenheim Foundation.

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