United States Ambassador William Taylor Shares An Update On Russia’s War On Ukraine

By Linda Chase - Jewish Connection News

Jan 7, 2025

United States Ambassador William Taylor is a diplomat, government official and former military officer. He currently serves as Vice President of the Russian and European Center at the United States Institute of Peace. From 2006 to 2009 he served as United States Ambassador to Ukraine, and as Chargé D'affaires to Ukraine from June 2019 to January 2020. On Wednesday, January 8th, 2025 at 12:30 p.m., Ambassador Taylor will lecture at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) on Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus. He will also give a presentation at FAU’s Jupiter campus on Thursday, January 9th, 2025 at 2:30 p.m.

During our conversation, Ambassador Taylor explained what needs to be done to end the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

“A peaceful agreement between Russia and Ukraine is clearly going to have to be initiated between the two nations. Only those two nations can forge and agree to negotiations. Ukrainians need to convince the Russians that they cannot win on the battlefield and all of Ukraine’s allies (including the United States) need to support it. If the Russians can be convinced that they can’t win, they will be motivated to come to the negotiating table. Over 780,000 Russian soldiers have been killed during the conflict. The Ukrainians will not sacrifice their soldiers the same way Putin has and they (Ukrainians) will never stop fighting. Russia started the invasion and it must stop with the Russians coming to the table. Negotiations have still not been reached between the countries.

Ambassador Taylor explained how the Russian-Ukraine conflict affects global security.

“The Russian invasion is a challenge to the security of the US, Europe and all nations. Russia is trying to establish a precedent where a large, powerful, nuclear armed nation can invade its non-nuclear smaller neighbor and get away with it. That has dramatic significant implications for every nation around the world. We have a moral obligation to realize what the Russians are doing to Ukrainian civilians is just wrong.”

Ambassador Taylor reflected on the optimism of the Ukrainians despite nearly three years of ongoing conflict.

“Since the big war started on February 24th, 2022, I have been to Ukraine several times and have been amazed by the heroism displayed by the Ukrainians and their leader since the invasion began. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has declared from the start of the invasion (over 1,000 days ago) that Ukraine will win this war. When Ukrainians push forward aggressively their morality goes way up. Their determination is to win this war. They understand that if Russia wins there is no Ukraine. After more than 1,000 days, Ukrainians are tired, but their will to survive keeps them motivated.”

For more information regarding the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at FAU, visit: https://olli.fau.edu/ollifau/category/category.aspx