Is Ukraine still a possible flashpoint for a larger war?

Before retiring from government service, Steven Pifer spent more than a quarter-century at the US State Department, in roles that largely focused on relations among the United States, Russia, and Europe, especially as regards arms control and other security issues. He has also served as US ambassador to Ukraine. Now an affiliate of Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation and a nonresident senior fellow with the Brookings Institution, Pifer spoke with me in in May—when negotiations between Ukraine and Russia were underway but seemed unlikely to reach a quick agreement—about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the possibility of escalation in that war as it drags on into its fourth year.