Wikimedia Commons

John Sullivan was posted in Moscow as the United States ambassador to Russia when the war with Ukraine first began. 

Sullivan, former US Deputy Secretary of State and former ambassador to Russia, visited the Jackson School on Wednesday for a conversation with Dean Jim Levinsohn on U.S.-Russia relations in light of the Ukrainian war.

“When the war in Ukraine started, its biggest impact on me was actually caused by Washington, not by Moscow, because starting in February, the pace of secure video conferences with Washington was relentless,” Sullivan said.

He explained that a small group of protesters gathered in front of the U.S. embassy when the war broke out, but that life in Moscow did not change significantly for him.

The experiences of his successor Lynne Tracy, however, were different. Sullivan noted that over time Russian rhetoric surrounding the war shifted to portray the U.S. as the enemy, which sparked hostile protests in front of the U.S. embassy calling the new ambassador a war criminal.

“When my successor arrived, on her first day, we also lost power at the embassy,” Sullivan said.

He gave examples of other wartime propaganda targeting the U.S., including Russian accusations of a joint Ukraine and U.S. biological weapons deal with a plan to attack Russia.

This rhetoric has intensified tensions between the U.S. and Russia since the conflict began.

“I am going to ask a question that you must get asked a lot and is probably on everyone’s mind, which is, how does this war end?” Levinsohn asked Sullivan. 

Sullivan said that while no one can tell how and when the war will end, Putin’s plans in Ukraine are clearly part of a long-envisioned obsession, and the Russian leader appears fully committed to taking control of Ukraine. 

He explained that there hasn’t been much development on the battlefield because both nations remain dedicated and neither side is willing to surrender. 

“There are two goals of the Russian military operation in Ukraine – what they’ve been saying since [the war] began – and they are to denazify and demilitarize Ukraine,” Sullivan said. 

Sullivan said that the Russian rhetoric of denazifying Ukraine centers around removing the democratically-elected government, emphasizing that Putin cannot stand to coexist with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Sullivan also discussed how protecting Ukrainian sovereignty is one of the priorities of the current U.S. administration, adding that American engagement with Russia has increased significantly since the conflict.

Alex Bavalsky ’25, an attendee at the event, inquired about the future of Ukraine’s international relations.

“Do you foresee Ukraine joining European and North American organizations like the EU or NATO, or do you foresee it as a neutral buffer between the West and the Russian Federation?” Bavalsky asked. 

Sullivan explained that there would need to be substantial security guarantees for Ukraine to enter such organizations.

He also noted that the funding of Ukraine’s reconstruction would be an important point to consider with regards to Ukraine’s role within the EU or NATO. 

“Too soon to tell where Ukraine finds itself in multilateral organizations,” he said.

The Russo-Ukrainian war began on Feb. 24, 2022.