Alexander Vindman

3 weeks ago | open.substack.com | Alexander Vindman

On May 11, Vladimir Putin rejected a proposed 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and instead offered to speak directly with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Istanbul, Turkey. On the eve of the summit, after Zelenskyy publicly accepted Moscow's offer, Putin quietly cancelled his visit to Istanbul and will send one of his least respected aides instead. Ukraine called Russia’s bluff and scored a significant diplomatic win.

1 month ago | avindman.com | Alexander Vindman

The prospect of a diplomatic settlement to the War in Ukraine has eluded Trump since the start of his second term. After weeks of negotiations with Russian and Ukrainian policymakers, the White House has unveiled what would appear to be its final conditions for a peace process in Ukraine. Simply put, the Trump administration is pushing a plan of Ukrainian surrender.

1 month ago | kyivpost.com | Alexander Vindman

Having run on the promise to end the war in Ukraine “day one” after taking office, Donald Trump has failed to secure any meaningful progress towards a diplomatic settlement to the conflict. What we have seen over the past three months has been the needless extortion of our besieged ally, the rapid decline in relations between Europe and the United States, and the bizarre parroting of Russian talking points by senior members of the administration.

2 months ago | rsn.org | Alexander Vindman

Appeasing Moscow Didn’t Work in the Past, and It Won’t Work for TrumpPresident Donald Trump’s approach to Russia and Ukraine—deferring to Moscow, bullying Kyiv—may seem like a radical departure from precedent. In fact, it is only Trump’s extreme style of diplomacy that is novel, as exemplified by the public scolding he meted out to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office in February.

2 months ago | foreignaffairs.com | Shannon O'Neil |Matias Spektor |Alexander Vindman |Alexander Gabuev

No great power sustained as dominant a position over its neighboring region as the United States did during most of the twentieth century. But in recent decades, Washington has largely disregarded its neighbors. Since a free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico and a military initiative to help Colombia combat drug cartels were negotiated more than 25 years ago, United States policy in the Americas has consisted mostly of failed measures to stem flows of migrants and drugs across U.S. borders.