Is a peace deal with Putin possible?
The Global Story
BBC
3.8 • 668 Ratings
🗓️ 26 February 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
As the war in Ukraine enters its fifth year, the prospect of peace feels as distant as ever. President Trump hasn’t yet succeeded in striking a deal, and negotiations between the US, Russia and Ukraine have yet to produce a breakthrough.
Fiona Hill is one of the foremost authorities on Vladimir Putin and a former White House advisor on Russia during Trump’s first term. Over the course of her career, she has sat across the table from the Russian president and helped shape US policy at the highest level.
She tells us what it is really like to be in the room Putin and Trump, and whether a durable peace in Ukraine is still within reach.
Producers: Chris Benderev and Valerio Esposito
Executive producer: James Shield
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
(Photo: Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin together. Credit: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:06.0 | We're doing something a bit unusual on our show this week. |
| 0:09.0 | We're going to do two back-to-back episodes about Ukraine, because the war has now entered its fifth year. |
| 0:16.7 | Yesterday, we focused on life on the ground inside Ukraine. |
| 0:20.1 | Today, a very different conversation. |
| 0:22.9 | We hear from someone who sat down with both Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. |
| 0:28.4 | Two key players in the negotiations to end the war, which frankly can sometimes feel like they're on repeat. |
| 0:34.2 | After just two hours, peace talks between Ukraine and Russia ended in Geneva on Wednesday. |
| 0:39.9 | Both sides describe discussions as constructive, but still no real progress. |
| 0:44.4 | We're working very hard to end the ninth war. |
| 0:47.3 | The killing and slaughter between Russia and Ukraine were 25,000. |
| 0:51.7 | Coming up, we sit down with someone who can help us understand what might happen next. |
| 0:56.6 | I mean, I actually do think it will stop at some point. |
| 0:59.1 | I do have more optimism, but I think we have to really work at it. |
| 1:02.2 | From the BBC, I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. |
| 1:05.9 | And today on The Global Story, is a negotiated peace between Russia and Ukraine even possible? |
| 1:20.1 | If you're familiar with Fiona Hill, there's a good chance it's because of her testimony |
| 1:24.5 | during the 2019 impeachment hearings of Donald Trump. |
| 1:28.5 | Hill served in the Trump White House from 2017 to 2019 in the National Security Council, focusing on Russia. |
| 1:36.2 | After her time in the White House, Hill returned to the Brookings Institution. |
| 1:39.8 | It's a think tank here in Washington. |
| 1:41.8 | She spent her career studying Russia. |
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