The war in Ukraine has entered a state of protracted confrontation, with neither side able to achieve a decisive victory. At the same time, it is also currently impossible to stop the fighting. This is what The Times , analyzing the situation on the front and political prospects.
According to the publication, Ukraine is not losing, but it is not winning either. The front line is changing slowly, and progress is being made by both sides at the cost of significant losses. Despite three rounds of direct negotiations between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations, no real progress towards peace has been achieved. The only results were prisoner exchanges and a short-lived "energy truce", which, as noted, did not lead to de-escalation.
Russian political analyst Tatyana Stanova believes that as long as Vladimir Putin remains in power and the state has the resources to finance the war, the fighting will continue. The lack of mass protests and the maintenance of military spending allow the Kremlin to maintain the conflict.
The publication also draws attention to the exhaustion of the Ukrainian military. After several years of continuous fighting, a significant part of the personnel is at the front for a long time, which creates a serious psychological burden. The story of a soldier with the call sign "Livesey" is given, who at the beginning of the full-scale invasion deserted due to psychological pressure, received a prison term, and later returned to the front under the new law on the mobilization of prisoners.
At the same time, Russia also has human resource problems. According to Western and Ukrainian officials, the losses of the Russian army exceed the rate of recruitment of new contract soldiers. Many of those who join the army do so primarily due to financial motivation, not ideological convictions.
Analysts agree that the conflict has taken on the characteristics of a protracted war of attrition. In the absence of political will to compromise and the preservation of the resource base on both sides, a quick end to the fighting is unlikely.
