No real update on the war. After the (alleged) assassination attempt on Putin in December 2025, Russia-US relations soured, and Russia took a dim view on the prospects of a diplomatic solution. Requests from Zelensky for a face to face meeting with Putin were dismissed and Russia has in recent weeks outlined that its position has evolved again. It does not believe a diplomatic solution is achievable at this time and is instead prepared to pursue a military victory with a deadline of 2030. In the meantime Europe continues to arm itself in preparation for some 2030 deadline. All in all there is nothing positive here for anyone.

Well, Russian advances have grinded to a halt - just six months ago, it looked like an inevitability that the Ukrainian frontline would soon crumble.

For those rooting for Ukraine, this is surely a positive development. Likewise, Ukraine has been able to ramp up its attacks on Russian ports and refineries more and more.
The flip side, of course, is that Ukraine is also getting hammered worse and worse from air attacks.

All in all, I would say the situation is weird and unprecedented in military history: two combatants who cannot advance, yet retain the ability to bomb each other into oblivion.

This post was edited by Black XistenZ on Jun 17 2026 05:59am