First, President Biden should appoint a special envoy for peace talks. Right now, we’re being outplayed by the Chinese, who have appointed a top-level diplomat, Li Hui, to represent them on this issue. Li has been meeting with government officials across the region, including in Ukraine, to bolster Beijing’s claims that it supports negotiations. China, however, is not really a disinterested party here — as embodied by Li himself. He has close ties to Kremlin officials, which calls his neutrality as a peacemaker into question.

The United States needs to take a more active part in this diplomatic game. An American special envoy should not only shadow Li’s steps in Europe to press U.S. positions, but also travel to countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East to explain why Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war is one of imperialism and colonialism and how it undermines the international system. Understanding the need to show more of a presence on this score, President Volodymyr Zelensky has been pressing the Ukrainian case any way he can — including an unexpected visit to Saudi Arabia and a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Group of Seven summit in Japan. We should show comparable initiative.

Second, Biden should appoint a new ambassador or special coordinator for Ukraine’s reconstruction. Such an official could focus on efforts to transfer the seized assets of the Russian Central Bank to an international Ukrainian development fund. This envoy would also help to promote transparency, private sector engagement and postwar democratic renewal. The job is too big and too political to be handled by existing U.S. agencies.

Third, Biden or Secretary of State Antony Blinken should appoint a de facto ambassador to the Russian diaspora. Our current efforts in assisting Russians who emigrated to avoid supporting Putin’s war are inadequate. We have a national security interest in giving these refugees reasons not to return home. Young men who leave Russia today are soldiers who will not be on the battlefield in Ukraine tomorrow. To that end, we should also be working to encourage more emigration.

Among other tasks, such an envoy could work on helping Putin critics living in exile to obtain work visas, unblock their bank accounts and maintain their media or civil society work targeting those still inside Russia. Serving as a liaison to the Belarusian opposition could be a part of the job as well. Such positions have been created in the past to interact with diaspora communities from Cuba, Iran and Venezuela.

Fourth and finally, Blinken must appoint a new high-profile sanctions coordinator now that James O’Brien — the current coordinator — is moving to another job. Right now, the United States and its allies should be expanding existing sanctions to support ongoing and future Ukrainian counteroffensives — so the sooner we can find a good replacement for O’Brien, the better. Such an envoy would also work on maintaining sanctions after the war until the Kremlin commits to paying reparations. It’s a big, hard job — and it must be filled right away.

While helping Ukrainian warriors win the war, the United States also needs to do more to help Kyiv win the peace. The time to gear up for this enormous mission is not after the war ends, but now.