This article originally appeared in The Hill. Below is an excerpt from the article.
By Matthew Bondy, January 2, 2025
President-elect Trump has vowed to end the war in Ukraine “within a day” of returning to the White House, or perhaps even before. Early indicators suggest he may just pull it off — or, at least, that peace may be coming into view.
For the first time since Russia’s confiscation of Ukrainian territory in 2014 and its subsequent full invasion in 2022, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has signaled he’ll consider giving land to get peace under specific circumstances. Namely, Zelensky may be ready to concede territory if NATO extends protection to the parts of Ukraine under Kyiv’s control.
A template for ending the armed hostilities between Russia and Ukraine is finally on the table. The devil will be in the details, with three core aspects front and center in the negotiations.
First is where to draw the line.
Russia will likely insist upon keeping the eastern Ukrainian oblasts it has already conquered and illegitimately folded into the Russian state, potentially in addition to the Crimean Peninsula with its significant naval strategic advantages.
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Matthew Bondy is a senior fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and a contributor to the Center for North American Prosperity and Security.
