Negotiating peace in Ukraine—without Ukraine, with Tim Mak

It’s becoming more and more clear that the Trump administration is simply the enforcement and policy arm of an American right that believes in a post-democratic world order. That’s why we see things like Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaking the language of autocrats like Vladimir Putin—and more or less doing their bidding.

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The dismantling of USAID has already resulted in the loss of funding for aid programs in Ukraine, like one that helps fund refugee centers in cities near the frontlines of the country’s war with Russia. But the Trump administration wants so much more. Unfortunately for Ukrainians, few of the administration’s goals appear to align with that of the war-torn country, which for the last three years has been the victim of Russian expansionism.

Today I’m talking with Tim Mak, a former NPR reporter who I first met a decade ago when he was working at the Daily Beast. Now, Mak runs the Counteroffensive, a newsletter that focuses on the human stories of war—and life—in Ukraine.

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