Helsinki Commission hearing: witnesses warn a ‘‘bad peace’’ in Ukraine would embolden Russia and threaten Moldova, Armenia and Georgia

Sen. Roger Wicker, chair of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission), opened a hearing saying "it is Ukrainians themselves who will overwhelmingly bear the cost of a peace deal that rewards Russian aggression." Witnesses and members of Congress echoed that view, warning that a negotiated settlement that legitimizes Russian gains would threaten nearby democracies in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus.

Michael Cecciri, identified in the hearing as a defense and security policy researcher at the RAND Corporation, Nerces Kopalian, Assistant Professor in Residence of Political Science at the University of Nevada, and Hannah Ljubakova, a Belarusian journalist in exile and non‑resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told the commission…