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The war in Ukraine will soon tick over into its fourth year. But while previous anniversaries passed with little sense of there being an obvious end to the fighting, things are beginning to feel a little different. Last week, Donald Trump spoke with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in what the U.S. president described as a “highly productive” phone call during which both men apparently agreed to “start negotiations immediately” on ending the conflict.
That phone call, coupled with comments from U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that seemed to undermine Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO, will not be welcomed in Kyiv.
But even if Trump were able to forge a deal to end the war, would Russia be in a better position now than before its invasion of 2022? The resounding answer from Ronald Linden, an Eastern Europe expert from the University of Pittsburgh, is “no.” The economic and human costs of the conflict to Russia are bad enough. But Moscow has also seen its influence across the world curtailed as it has focused on waging war on its neighbor. It also means Moscow is more in hock to Beijing than at any previous time in its history.
“Talk of exit scenarios from this 3-year-old conflict should not mask the fact that since the invasion began, Putin has overseen one of the worst periods in Russian foreign policy since the end of the Cold War,” Linden argues.
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Matt Williams
Senior International Editor
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Readers' picks
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With its focus on war with its neighbor, Russia has taken its eyes off the ball elsewhere. As a result, its position is much weaker – but Putin remains dangerous.
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Mary J. Scourboutakos, University of Toronto
Despite calls from some corners to switch from canola oil and corn oil to beef tallow, the move is unlikely to make Americans healthier.
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Mitchell Newberry, University of New Mexico
Artists and scientists explore how we subconsciously perceive subtle proportions in trees.
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Meghan Sullivan, University of Notre Dame
Philosophers have always wrestled with how love can be so morally important, yet so personal and even arbitrary.
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Christine Leuenberger, Cornell University
How maps’ names and border territories − and what they omit - can project different political objectives.
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Editors' picks
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Allison Stanger, Middlebury
Granting tech leaders direct control over government functions fundamentally alters the relationship between private power and public governance.
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Mary E. Dozier, Mississippi State University
Assessing how well items align with your core beliefs may make it easier to let them go.
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Aliasger K. Salem, University of Iowa
It costs money to maintain the various facilities, utilities and personnel that allow scientists to conduct research in the first place. Without federal support, institutions are left scrambling.
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Jason Reed, University of Notre Dame
The consumer price index rose by 0.5% in January, meaning Americans are now paying 3% more on items than they were 12 months ago.
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Christopher Ferguson, Auburn University
In 1866, journalist Andrew Halliday led his readers on a guided tour of one of London’s foremost card manufacturers – to reveal how emotions were being ‘manufactured.’
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News Quiz 🧠
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Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation
Test your knowledge with a weekly quiz drawn from some of our favorite stories. Questions this week on chocolate, inflation and NIH funding.
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