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Russia’s War in Ukraine

Understanding the conflict four years on.

For more than four years, the Russia-Ukraine war has dominated discussions among NATO allies and played an immeasurable role in shaping the alliance’s approach to collective defense. Ukraine is once again poised to be a central topic at this year’s NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, which begins on July 7. Kyiv is hopeful that a shifting dynamic in the fight, which has made it more difficult for Russian President Vladimir Putin to hide the war’s costs from the Russian public, will push the conversation in a fresh direction.

“This is a very serious and powerful moment,” Olga Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, told Foreign Policy in an interview in the lead-up to the summit. While NATO summits in recent years often focused on Ukraine’s aspirations of joining NATO, Stefanishyna said that this time “it’s not about the political consensus or the membership, it’s just simply the obvious fact that the NATO collective defense is no longer possible without Ukraine.”

For more than four years, the Russia-Ukraine war has dominated discussions among NATO allies and played an immeasurable role in shaping the alliance’s approach to collective defense. Ukraine is once again poised to be a central topic at this year’s NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, which begins on July 7. Kyiv is hopeful that a shifting dynamic in the fight, which has made it more difficult for Russian President Vladimir Putin to hide the war’s costs from the Russian public, will push the conversation in a fresh direction.

“This is a very serious and powerful moment,” Olga Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, told Foreign Policy in an interview in the lead-up to the summit. While NATO summits in recent years often focused on Ukraine’s aspirations of joining NATO, Stefanishyna said that this time “it’s not about the political consensus or the membership, it’s just simply the obvious fact that the NATO collective defense is no longer possible without Ukraine.”

The gathering comes as the war has entered a new chapter, in which Ukraine is increasingly conducting drone strikes deep into Russian territory, targeting energy infrastructure to deprive Moscow of revenue that drives its war machine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who will be in Ankara for the event, has described this approach as Kyiv’s “long-range sanctions” on Russia. “The fact that so many people across all the territory of the Russian Federation have experienced being under attack means that the circle of people in Russia who will be decision-makers in terms of ending the war is widening beyond President Putin,” Stefanishyna said.

But Russia is also still hammering Ukraine with brutal strikes. On Monday—the eve of the summit—Moscow launched yet another deadly attack on Kyiv, making it clear that Putin still isn’t backing down. Despite this, Stefanishyna expressed optimism that Kyiv’s approach could ultimately fuel diplomatic efforts.

Stefanishyna also discussed how Kyiv hopes the U.S.-Iran peace framework could be applied to the Russia-Ukraine war, what Zelensky plans on saying to U.S. President Donald Trump at the summit, and more.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Foreign Policy: There’s recently been a notable shift in tone from the Trump administration on Ukraine. President Trump and other administration officials have been more critical of Russia over the war and have praised the Ukrainian military. But we’ve also seen the administration flip-flop a lot when it comes to Ukraine. Still, are you encouraged at all by this apparent tone shift?

Olga Stefanishyna: Well, we’re not assessing our relations with........

© Foreign Policy