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Russia's War on Ukraine: Where Is US Policy Headed?

Webinar · 10.12.2024 16:00 - 17:00

TRANSATLANTIC CURRENTS
Russia’s War on Ukraine: Where Is US Policy Headed? 

Tuesday 10 December, 2024 at 16:00-17:00 EET/15:00-16:00 CET


With just over a month left in his administration, President Joe Biden has taken additional steps to strengthen Ukraine’s position both on the battlefield and at the negotiating table, according to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Notably, President Biden has loosened restrictions on Ukraine’s use of US-supplied longer-range missiles (ATACMS) to target military targets inside Russian territory and ordered the Pentagon to expedite delivery of remaining security assistance allocated by Congress before he leaves office. Whether such steps will serve to blunt the Russians’ onslaught in the east and their punishing air, missile, and drone attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and other civilian targets is far from certain. 

Meanwhile, US allies, partners – especially Ukraine – and adversaries are preparing to navigate the policies of the incoming administration under President-elect Donald Trump, who claimed during his campaign he could end the war “in 24 hours.” Many remain sceptical of Trump’s intentions, given his past statements about Ukraine, praise for Vladimir Putin, and frequent barbs directed at NATO Allies and the European Union. However, some, including advisors from his previous administration, argue that Trump’s dealmaking skills and a Ronald Reagan-like “peace through strength” approach would allow him to show resolve with both Moscow and Kyiv.

This episode of Transatlantic Currents will discuss the recent evolution of the Biden Administration’s approach to Russia’s war on Ukraine and various factors – both domestic (including Congressional and American public opinion) and external – that are likely to shape the Trump Administration’s policy options and decision-making.

Programme:

Opening words & Q&A:
Charly Salonius-Pasternak, Leading Researcher, FIIA

Speaker:
Ambassador (ret.) John Herbst, Senior Director, Eurasia Center, Atlantic Council and former US Ambassador to Ukraine

Chair:
Leo Michel, Non-Resident Fellow, FIIA

Transatlantic Currents is a webinar series hosted by FIIA’s Center on US Politics and Power featuring American experts on political science and international relations. The series covers a wide array of timely topics from foreign and defense policy to US domestic issues of particular interest to the transatlantic community. The webinars are hosted by FIIA Non-Resident Fellows, Ambassador (ret.) Deborah McCarthy and Leo Michel. 

 

You can register to follow the webinar here.

For more information: events@fiia.fi

Speakers

John Herbst

Senior Director, Eurasia Center, Atlantic Council and former US Ambassador to Ukraine

Ambassador John E. Herbst is senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and served for thirty-one years as a foreign service officer in the US Department of State, retiring at the rank of career minister. He was US ambassador to Ukraine from 2003 to 2006, when he worked to enhance US-Ukrainian relations, help ensure the conduct of a fair Ukrainian presidential election, and prevent violence during the Orange Revolution. Prior to that, he was ambassador to Uzbekistan (2000-03), where he played a critical role in the establishment of an American base to help conduct Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He also promoted improved US-Uzbek relations, in part by encouraging the government in Tashkent to improve its human rights record.

In his last four years at the State Department, he served as the coordinator for reconstruction and stabilization, leading the US government’s civilian capacity in societies in transition from conflict or civil strife, and to provide support to countries at risk of instability. He oversaw the establishment of the Civilian Response Corps of the United States, the US civilian rapid response force for reconstruction and stabilization operations overseas.

Ambassador Herbst previously served as US consul general in Jerusalem; principal deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large for the Newly Independent States; the director of the office of independent states and commonwealth affairs; director of regional affairs in the Near East Bureau; and at the embassies in Tel Aviv, Moscow, and Saudi Arabia.

He most recently served as director of the center for complex operations at National Defense University. He has received the Presidential Distinguished Service Award, the Secretary of State’s Career Achievement Award, and the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award. Ambassador Herbst has written book chapters, articles, and op-eds on stability operations in Central Asia, Ukraine, and Russia. His writings have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, the National Interest, and Foreign Policy. He has been a frequent guest discussing the Ukraine crisis on television and radio.

Ambassador Herbst earned a bachelor of science in foreign service from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, Phi Beta Kappa, and a master of law and diplomacy, with distinction, from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. He also attended the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies Bologna Center.

Chair

Leo Michel

Non-resident Fellow, FIIA

Leo Michel is Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. His previous government positions included: Distinguished Research Fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies; Director for NATO Policy and Director for Non-Nuclear Arms Control in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and Deputy U.S. Representative to the U.S.-Russia Bilateral Consultative Commission as well as other government positions. Michel holds a M.A. from Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies and a B.A. from Princeton University.

Opening words & Q&A

Charly Salonius-Pasternak

Leading Researcher, FIIA

Charly Salonius-Pasternak is a Leading Researcher at FIIA and leads the work of the Center on US Politics and Power (CUSPP). His work at FIIA focuses on international security issues, especially Nordic and transatlantic security (including NATO), as well as U.S. foreign and defence policy. Recently he has focused on Finnish-Swedish defence cooperation and the evolution of US and NATO alliance reassurance approaches in light of the changed regional security situation. In 2017, he was a visiting research fellow at the Changing Character of War programme at Pembroke College (Oxford University), where he studied the hybridization of warfare and the impact of the Information Age on the character of war.