Opinion | Russia and Ukraine’s war of attrition leaves no easy off-ramp

Name: Putin on Ukraine: end war via talks or by force
Uploaded: 2026-02-26T12:30:08.000Z
Description: Putin on Ukraine: end war via talks or by force

Barring Moscow or Kyiv reaching breaking points in their war efforts, neither side will make any steps to end or ‘freeze’ the conflict

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Ukrainian soldiers fire a multiple rocket launch system towards Russian troops near the frontline town of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk, Ukraine, on October 23, 2025. Photo: Reuters

Nikola Mikovic

Published: 8:30pm, 26 Feb 2026

Four years after launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has not achieved any of its strategic goals. The conflict – now lasting longer than the Soviet Union’s fight against Germany in World War II – has only caused Moscow to lose its influence dramatically in the post-Soviet space. Is there a way out of the Kremlin’s Ukraine adventure?

In the early days of war, which erupted on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that his “special military operation” in Ukraine was going “according to plan”. However, Russian policymakers quickly realised that ending the conflict in Moscow’s favour would be anything but easy. In an attempt to force Kyiv to accept the Kremlin’s demands, Russian officials travelled in early 2022, first to Belarus and then to Turkey, to negotiate with their Ukrainian counterparts. No progress was made.

To this day, Ukraine – backed by the European Union and the United States – refuses to make territorial concessions to Russia. Under the current circumstances, where Western powers continue arming and funding Kyiv, the most the Ukrainian leadership is willing to accept is freezing the conflict along the current front lines. The problem, however, is that such a proposal is unacceptable for Moscow.

From the Kremlin’s perspective, any ceasefire would allow Ukraine to reconsolidate its military, rearm and prepare for the next round of fighting. That is why Russia insists on a “long-term peace,” rather than a ceasefire deal similar to the Minsk agreements. The documents, signed in 2014 and 2015, effectively put the hot phase of the war in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region on hold, while low‑scale positional warfare continued until 2022.

What also worries Russia is that the “coalition of the willing” countries could send troops to Ukraine as soon as a deal – whether a peace agreement or a ceasefire – is reached. That is why the Kremlin continues its “special military operation” in the Eastern European nation – a campaign that has, in reality, turned into a prolonged war of attrition. Indeed, by storming Ukrainian well-fortified positions in the Donbas, Russia is effectively wearing down both itself and its opponent.

Still, four years into the war, one question persists: Why has Russia failed to achieve its objectives in Ukraine?

Putin on Ukraine: end war via talks or by force

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Barring Moscow or Kyiv reaching breaking points in their war efforts, neither side will make any steps to end or ‘freeze’ the conflict

Barring Moscow or Kyiv reaching breaking points in their war efforts, neither side will make any steps to end or ‘freeze’ the conflict