Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that he would end the Ukraine war in 24 hours. This is, of course, unlikely. Even a quick negotiated end to a conflict between Ukraine and Russia would hinge on Ukrainian and Russian willingness to negotiate in good faith – a commodity that is in particularly short supply at the moment.
Perhaps the US president-elect’s customary threats and demands will force warring parties to talk peace. But that style of diplomacy could come at the price of ramping up the risk of escalating rather than ending the war.
This would also be a particularly dangerous game to play at a time of increasingly aggressive Russian nuclear posturing. Since it attacked Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has increased the readiness of its nuclear forces and threatened multiple countries including Ukraine, the UK and Finland with nuclear weapons use or weapons deployment closer to their borders.
