A week ago Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukrainians that they faced “a very tough choice – either the loss of our dignity, or the risk of losing a key partner”. The warning came as the Trump administration increased pressure on Zelenskyy to accept a peace deal that appears to secure all of Vladimir Putin’s war aims – a proposal European leaders have described as capitulation.
With the war about to enter its fourth winter, there seems no sign that either side has the capability to make a significant military breakthrough. Neither the incessant infantry grind on the eastern front, Moscow’s aerial bombardment of Ukrainian cities, nor Kyiv’s long-range strikes on infrastructure inside Russia look likely to shift the equilibrium any time soon.
