Ambassador Gregory Slayton, a former senior U.S. diplomat and recipient of the Distinguished Foreign Service Award, has built an eclectic career as a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, bestselling author, and humanitarian leader.
An honors graduate of Dartmouth and Harvard Business School, Slayton has served as a visiting professor at prestigious universities around the world and currently chairs Slayton Capital and Family First Global. His latest endeavor—Portraits of Ukraine: A Nation at War—amplifies facts about Ukraine’s suffering and resilience, while he is working to support those most affected by the war.
Slayton expresses cautious support for peace negotiations, particularly efforts by former President Trump. “I'm very glad to see President Trump driving for peace,” he says. “My concern is...Russia has not agreed to the ceasefire. Let’s be real clear about that.”
For Slayton, Putin’s past and present tactics render any promises from the Kremlin suspect. “He's a dictator who hasn’t faced any elections,” he says, noting the fate of 42 oligarchs who have “been tossed off a 45-story building” since the war began.
He criticizes what he views as empty concessions from Russia. “They’ve agreed to some idea that we won’t attack certain types of power infrastructure,” he says. “Well, guess what? It’s mid-March in Ukraine—Winter’s over.” He warns that such moves are optics rather than real steps toward peace, while Putin simultaneously demands “no more weapons sent to Ukraine from anyone” and “no more information sharing.”
The Ambassador emphasizes the role of Russian hybrid warfare, which he believes many Americans fail to fully grasp. “The Kremlin is spending over $1.2 billion a year on information warfare,” he says. “Much of what people hear—‘NATO started the war,’ ‘Zelensky is a crook’—is information warfare from our enemies in the Kremlin.”
Slayton supports ideas that draw the U.S. and Ukraine into deeper cooperation, including Trump’s proposal for the U.S. to manage nuclear energy facilities like Zaporizhzhia. “Get Americans involved in Ukraine in a positive way,” he says. “I think that is an excellent step forward.”
His book project, Portraits of Ukraine, began as an extension of humanitarian work delivering over 16 million pounds of food and medical supplies into Ukraine. “We have great Ukrainian drivers, great Ukrainian distributors, mostly churches, synagogues, community centers,” he explains. As the war dragged on and donor fatigue set in, the team created a comprehensive volume blending history, culture, and war documentation. “You can’t understand this war if you don’t understand at least a little bit about the reality of Ukraine,” he says.
Slayton speaks with particular intensity about the historical trauma Ukrainians carry. “There were three massive famines in Ukraine and Russia,” he says, highlighting Stalin’s Holodomor of 1932–33. “At least 7 million Ukrainians died...And it was definitely genocide.” These events, he argues, explain deep-seated Ukrainian distrust of Russia.
While Slayton credits Trump for showing strength in foreign policy, he criticizes previous administrations. “Obama and Biden... did show weakness,” he says, citing the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal and China’s militarization of the South China Sea. “When you’re dealing with dictators, weakness is always an invitation to disaster.”
Still, he acknowledges the delicate balancing act required for successful diplomacy. “If we alienate our allies—Canada, France, Germany, the UK—why would you do that in a big fight? It just doesn’t make sense.”
Slayton supports the notion that foreign policy gains can build momentum. “A lot of foreign policy is about momentum,” he says, pointing to potential wins in Gaza, Iran, and the Red Sea as steps to improving Trump’s negotiating position with Putin. But he warns against trusting flattery from the Kremlin. “Putin thinks he’s fooling Trump,” he says, and asks, “Why does Putin need to give up?”
Still, Slayton insists Russia is weakening. “The Putin regime is at its weakest point in 25 years,” he says, and lists evidence: “Inflation is in the teens, interest rates are in the 20s, entire industries are on the verge of bankruptcy.” With so many able-bodied Russians killed, wounded, or emigrated, he calls it a “demographic disaster.”
Slayton is particularly passionate about claims that Russia has been abducting Ukrainian children. “That’s a fact,” he says. “There are 20,000 children—probably more—kidnapped, brought to Russia.” He notes that both Putin and his child welfare secretary are under indictment by the International Criminal Court, calling the mass abductions “a huge problem.”
His book documents Russian war crimes, including rape “not just of little girls but little boys...innocent kids,” he says. “We need to demand justice.”
Slayton hopes Americans will not sit on the sidelines. “In the 1930s, too many Americans sat on their hands when Hitler was rampaging,” he warns. “We've got a murderous dictator who’s shown us time and again that his respect for anyone else’s life is nil,” he says of Putin. He calls the war “not a Ukrainian war only—this is a war for freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.”
