When will the war between Ukraine and Russia end?
It doesn’t seem like any endgame is anywhere close to arriving, as the two countries haven’t held peace talks in months, and if anything, the war has continued to escalate.
Putin with a Rifle. Image Credit: Russian State Media.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin at the at the BRICS+ meeting (via videoconference). Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The London Times reported Monday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has “set out” a peace proposal, with help from European officials and the Trump Administration, that matches a proposal Zelensky had teased earlier in the month, to pressure Russia to end the war.
Meanwhile, the Kyiv Independent reported this week that Russian President Vladimir Putin had, on August 22, claimed that Russia had received “exotic” and “unacceptable” peace proposals from Ukraine.
“The proposals being conveyed to us are sometimes, I would say, exotic in nature and are unacceptable,” Putin told journalist Pavel Zarubin in a recent interview, per the Independent.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in an interview this week that Moscow is willing to listen to ideas for ending the war, provided they align with Russia’s position.
“The Russian Federation is ready to listen to any reasonable proposals and ideas that are in line with the goals set by the Russian president and meet the ‘realities on the ground’,” Ryabkov said this week.
However, a Russian official has now proposed a specific endgame for the war, though not one involving any peace plan.
Over by 2030?
According to United 24 Media, Viktor Sobolev, a member of the Russian State Duma Defense Committee and former commander of Russia’s 58th Combined Arms Army, said this week that Russia should end the war in four years to prepare for a subsequent confrontation with NATO, which he sees growing stronger in the coming years.
Sobolev’s proposal appears to call for an unambiguous Russian victory, rather than a peaceful settlement. It would also likely not involve Ukraine becoming a NATO member after the war.
“We need to deal with the fascist regime before Poland and other NATO countries are ready for war with Russia,” Sobolev said, presumably referring to Ukraine as that “fascist regime.”
“The Poles, Germans, French, British, Belgians, Norwegians, Finns, and Swedes—they all want to fight Russia and inflict a strategic defeat on it.”
The interview was with Gazeta.Ru, which was cited by the Moscow Times.
The war, which began in 2022, would wrap up after eight years on Sobolev’s timetable, meaning it is now only about half over.
Sobolev added that he does not see any conditions for the war to end this year.
“There are no prerequisites for ending the war in 2026,” he added.
No Surrender
In remarks marking Ukrainian Independence Day, the 35th anniversary of Ukraine gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed possibilities for peace.
In his speech on Monday, joined by British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and European Council President Antonio Costa, Zelensky discussed the need for peace and Ukraine’s current posture.
“Ukraine absolutely wants peace, but it is not ready to simply surrender,” the Ukrainian leader said, per Reuters.
He also once again rejected Russia’s demand that Ukraine surrender more of the Eastern Donbas region.
“Ukraine is different, and it does not give away what is its own,” Zelensky said in the address.
It was Burnham’s first foreign visit since he assumed office earlier this summer, and it coincided with the announcement that Britain would allow Ukraine access to technology to build SCALP long-range cruise missiles in Ukraine.
The speech was set to be followed by a virtual meeting of what’s known as the “Coalition of the Willing,” a group of countries including Britain, Germany and France, that are backing Ukraine’s war efforts. The leaders of the coalition announced that they had “reiterated Ukraine’s clear and inherent right to defend itself against the Russian war of aggression.”
Russia and Ukraine held a couple of rounds of peace talks earlier this year, but made little progress toward a settlement. In the months since, the war has only grown deadlier, with Russia launching missile attacks at Ukrainian cities, while Ukrainian drones have struck Russia’s energy and economic infrastructure.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
