Peace at Any Cost? Current Developments, Challenges, and Perspectives for Ukraine

During his election campaign, U.S. President Donald Trump confidently announced that he could end Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine within 24 hours. Nearly a year later, this promise has still not been fulfilled. However, several important developments have taken place in recent months—not all of them in Ukraine’s favor.

In mid-January, trilateral talks mediated by the U.S. between representatives of Ukraine and Russia took place, initially without a clear outcome. These resumed talks, however, laid the groundwork for the temporary ceasefire on energy infrastructure agreed at the end of January, aimed at preventing a humanitarian catastrophe amid Ukraine’s extreme cold. Despite these diplomatic efforts, the ceasefire did not hold for long. Just a few days later, Russia launched massive attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure again, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to hint at adjusting the negotiation strategy. Since early February, representatives of the warring parties have once again been negotiating in further trilateral talks with the U.S. in Abu Dhabi—the outcome of these discussions remains uncertain.

For this reason, we are very pleased to welcome Iryna Shulikina, Executive Director of the Berlin-based Ukrainian NGO Vitsche, as well as Adis Ahmetovic, Member of the German Bundestag and Foreign Policy Spokesperson for the SPD, to our foundation on 16 March 2026 at 5:30 PM.

We look forward to discussing with you and our guests questions such as: How is the current situation in Ukraine? Have the U.S., the EU, and NATO provided sufficient support to Ukraine, or should more be done? What prospects do the negotiations between the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia have? Which compromises would be acceptable for Ukraine—and which would not? What role can and should the EU play in the peace negotiations? How can Europe and Germany respond to these developments? What security guarantees does Ukraine need to be protected from Russian attacks? How does the U.S. rapprochement with Russia affect the security architecture in Ukraine and the EU?

We very much look forward to your participation and kindly ask for a binding registration by 15 March 2026.