War could last up to three more years: European officials doubt quick Ukraine-Russia peace, WSJ reports
Ukrainian soldier on front line (photo: Getty Images)
Despite intensified negotiations, a ceasefire in Ukraine remains unlikely in the near term. Top European officials predict that fighting could continue for another one to three years, The Wall Street Journal reports.
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According to the publication, current negotiations between Ukraine and Russia have turned into a kind of game, the main goal of which is not achieving peace but avoiding the anger of US President Donald Trump.
Both sides are trying to create an impression of constructiveness so as not to be accused of disrupting the peace process.
"The upbeat diplomatic buzzwords belie the impasse in a peace process that many observers, and even some participants, said has turned into political theater," WSJ writes.
Peace negotiations
This week, another round of negotiations mediated by the United States ended in Geneva, which, like previous meetings in Abu Dhabi, brought no real result.
A senior Ukrainian official speaking on condition of anonymity said that these three rounds of trilateral negotiations this year have become a kind of performance aimed at convincing the US president that the problem is not Ukraine.
Is Trump losing interest?
Although the Trump administration declared its desire to agree to the midterm elections in the United States (November 2026), the US president is not exerting real pressure on Kyiv or Moscow.
According to American officials, White House is gradually losing interest in the Ukrainian issue, shifting attention to Iran's nuclear program and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
Former US ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Ivo Daalder described the situation as "a game to avoid being blamed for Trump's failure to end the war." Optimistic statements of diplomats only conceal the complete deadlock in which the peace process has found itself.
Forecasts on the duration of the war
Against the background of the absence of a diplomatic breakthrough, European allies are preparing for a prolonged confrontation.
"But no ceasefire is in sight. Senior European officials said the war is likely to continue for another one to three years," the publication summarizes.
At the same time, Russian and anonymous Telegram channels are spreading alleged words of WSJ journalist Bojan Pancevski claiming that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, ordered preparations for another three years of war because of the alleged failure of negotiations.
Presidential adviser Dmytro Lytvyn told journalists that these publications are outright fake.
According to him, neither words about another three years of war nor words about the failure of negotiations correspond to reality.
What the Western media writes about the war in Ukraine
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in an interview with Der Spiegel that he sees almost no chances for a quick end to the war between Russia and Ukraine through negotiations.
According to Axios, the political part of the negotiation process is effectively also in deadlock.
Meanwhile, The New York Times writes that Russian President Vladimir Putin is convinced of his advantage on the battlefield and is ready to fight for at least two more years for full control over the Donetsk region.
