A CONVERSATION WITH FORMER PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE PETRO POROSHENKO - The war in Ukraine appears to have reached a new stage. The victory of US President-elect Donald Trump has brought forth conflicting hopes and fears amongst Ukrainians, as well as the broader foreign policy community, about the future of US support for Ukraine.

Trump has announced his determination to find a resolution to the war through negotiations. While elements of his approach are still to be made public, ideas proposed by those around him appear to involve some territorial compromises by Ukraine, as well as measures meant to ensure Ukraine’s future security going forward.

Amid this uncertainty, the Ukrainian military has continued to see success in the Black Sea and with special operations in Crimea. Ukrainian forces have also shaken off a series of Russian counteroffensives in Kursk, and the Ukrainians are now using US ATACMs to strike further into Russian territory against military targets. In retaliation, Russia fired a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile at central Ukraine, a weapon designed for nuclear strikes. Perhaps more important, Russian forces have continued to make small, very costly progress in Ukraine’s East, with their latest counteroffensive in Kursk conducted by fifty thousand troops, including approximately ten thousand North Korean troops, raising new challenges for Ukraine.

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 12/05/2024