Daalder: "A ceasefire is not in the interest of Ukraine"

Could a ceasefire in Ukraine do more harm than good? Former US Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World to explain why he sees a pause in the war as a potential trap.

Daalder says that neither Ukraine nor Europe initially wanted a ceasefire, but pressure from the United States, particularly former President Donald Trump , has shifted the conversation. He warns that many negotiations have been shaped more by US political interests than by the realities on the battlefield, pushing Ukraine toward a deal Russia is willing to accept.

“If a ceasefire means the United States opens up economic and diplomatic concessions to Russia, and Europeans follow, the security guarantees unravel,” Daalder explains, adding that such a pause risks creating a frozen conflict rather than a just or sustainable peace. “That is a trap potentially, it doesn’t have to be, but it could lead to the unraveling of everything that’s there.”