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Former US Senator Rob Portman: How to achieve a successful cease-fire and lasting peace in Ukraine

The article was originallypublished by the Cleveland Plain Dealer*.*

Last week, I joined friends from Ohio’s Ukrainian community in Washington, DC, to commemorate the three-year anniversary of Russia’s unprovoked and brutal full-scale assault on Ukraine. Much of the conversation was about how best to achieve a just and lasting peace. The Oval Office visit later in the week was a setback, but it must not deter us from seeking a cease-fire and peace agreement that benefits the United States, Ukraine, and the world.

I agree with US President Donald Trump that it is time to bring this tragic war on Ukraine to an end, and I believe his focus on that goal since his swearing-in has helped force a necessary discussion about how that should happen. Obviously, there is a wide divergence of views on how to achieve peace and what role the United States should play. But the common ground is that the status quo of a bloody stalemate is unacceptable, and there must be a permanent end to the killing of civilians and destruction of Ukrainian cities by Russia and the battle deaths on both sides.

Russia has given no public indication that it feels the need to compromise on any of its war aims.

These are difficult and emotional discussions, especially for Ukrainians. For there is no escaping the facts: Russia is the aggressor. Russia invaded a sovereign nation. Russia has committed war crimes, including the trafficking of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children. Russia regularly bombs civilian targets, including hospitals, churches, schools, and apartment buildings. And there are hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian casualties from the war.

There are other facts, as well, that should guide any negotiations with the parties: Russia has given no public indication that it feels the need to compromise on any of its war aims. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already said he’s willing to compromise. To get Russia to the table to negotiate in good faith, as the Trump administration proposes, will require US and allied leverage through tightening sanctions and continued military support.

Perhaps the most important fact to consider in negotiations is that Russia has not complied with the terms of previous agreements, including the Budapest Memorandum and the two Minsk agreements, as well as various short-lived cease-fires.

Given Russia’s history of noncompliance, any successful cease-fire agreement must include commitments from the international community to support Ukraine going forward to prevent revisiting the horrors of this war and to begin Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction.

As the Trump administration has said, the recently negotiated minerals agreement would help in this regard by solidifying the US-Ukrainian economic relationship, providing US companies with investment opportunities in strategic sectors, and helping finance Ukraine’s economic recovery. It is in our interests and Ukraine’s to get back to those discussions and sign the minerals agreement. However, given Russia’s track record and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s often-stated ambitions to take more sovereign territory by force, military commitments by the international community to help enforce the terms of any agreement are needed, too. I am encouraged by the commitments from European allies that they are willing to put boots on the ground to keep the peace.

We should all want the war on Ukraine to end, and we should welcome negotiations. But we should negotiate from a position of strength and, based on the history of Russian noncompliance, recognize that a successful cease-fire and a lasting peace agreement requires consequences for violating its terms and a real deterrent against future Russian aggression.

Rob Portman is a former US senator for Ohio and an Atlantic Council board member.