On May 9, speaking to reporters after the Moscow Victory Day parade, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said the war with Ukraine was “coming to a close”, and, for the first time since the war began in February 2022, indicated that he would be willing to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy if talks were aimed at finalising a long-term peace deal. His comments underscore the pressure that he faces, both domestically and on the battlefield, as the war, which he launched as a ‘special military operation’, drags into its fifth year. Mr. Putin had said in 2022, months after the invasion began, that Russia would do “our best to stop this as soon as possible”. Yet, the war continued, with Russian troops making incremental advances in eastern and southern Ukraine. Those gains, however, have now largely stalled. While the frontline has barely shifted this year, both sides have carried out devastating drone and missile strikes. In the early years of the war, the Russian public was largely insulated from its consequences. That is no longer the case. Today, Ukraine is capable of striking deep inside Russian territory. Tax increases, rising prices and a deepening gloom in the business sector have fuelled public frustration, affecting Mr. Putin’s approval rating. At the same time, hardline nationalist sections are demanding a more forceful response to Ukraine’s attacks, adding to the pressure on the Kremlin.

Russia has so far ruled out a lasting ceasefire. Instead, it seeks a comprehensive peace agreement — Ukraine must remain neutral, withdraw from the Donbas region, sanctions on Russia must be removed and a new security arrangement between Moscow and NATO. While Russia has genuine security concerns, amplified by NATO’s unchecked eastward expansion, clinging to maximalist demands while fighting a seemingly endless war will not make Russia stronger. Mr. Putin launched the war expecting a swift victory. His forces have captured over 20% of Ukrainian territory, but at a tremendous cost. It is time that he shifted focus from continuing a war with no clear endpoint to finding a path to peace. Ukraine has demonstrated that it can withstand an invasion by a great power. But Kyiv, too, lacks a realistic pathway to victory. Russia, despite mounting challenges, retains the military capacity to inflict greater damage, and if the war drags on, Kyiv risks losing more territory. Europe must also realise that the Ukraine war has weakened the continent economically and politically, leaving it more dependent on the U.S. even as Washington is drifting away. The four-plus years have shown that there is no military solution to this conflict. What is needed instead is a serious push by all sides toward a negotiated settlement.

The European Union (EU) on Thursday (October 23, 2025) heaped more economic sanctions on Russia, adding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s new punitive measures the previous day against the Russian oil industry.

It is a broadened effort to choke off the revenue that funds Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and to force President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war.

The steps are a triumph for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has long campaigned for the international community to punish Russia more comprehensively for attacking his country.

Ukraine and E.U. leaders accuse Putin of stalling and reject land concessions for peace

“We waited for this. God bless, it will work. And this is very important,” the Ukrainian leader said in Brussels, where EU countries attending a summit announced the latest round of Russia sanctions.

Despite U.S.-led peace efforts in recent months, the war shows no sign of ending after more than three years of fighting, and European leaders are increasingly concerned about the threat from Russia.

Ukrainian forces have largely held Russia’s bigger Army at bay in a slow and ruinous war of attrition along a roughly 1,000-kilometre (600-mile) front line that snakes along eastern and southern Ukraine. Almost daily Russian long-range strikes have taken aim at Ukraine’s power grid ahead of the bitter winter, while Ukrainian forces have targeted Russian oil refineries and manufacturing plants.

Ukraine resists EU conditions on loan backed by frozen Russian assets

Energy revenue is the linchpin of Russia’s economy, allowing Mr. Putin to pour money into the armed forces without worsening inflation for everyday people and avoiding a currency collapse.

The EU measures target Russian oil and gas, the Russian shadow fleet of hundreds of aging tankers that are dodging sanctions, and Russia’s financial sector. Also, a new system for limiting the movement of Russian diplomats within the 27-nation EU will be introduced.

Mr. Zelenskyy urged more nations to punish Russia. “This is a good signal to other countries in the world to join the sanctions,” he told reporters in Brussels. Senior officials in Europe and the United States have debated for months over how best to crank up pressure on the Kremlin.

Russia says it takes two more Ukrainian villages, struck energy targets overnight

The new EU measures took almost a month to decide. The 27-nation bloc has already slapped 18 packages of sanctions against Russia over the war, but getting final agreement on whom and what to target can take weeks. Moscow has also proved adept at sidestepping sanctions.

The U.S. sanctions against Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil came after Mr. Trump said his plan for a swift meeting with Mr. Putin was on hold because he didn’t want it to be a “waste of time,” in the latest twist in Trump’s hot-and-cold efforts to end the war as Mr. Putin refuses to budge from his demands.

In what appeared to be a public reminder of Russian atomic arsenals, Mr. Putin on Wednesday (October 23, 2025) directed drills of the country’s strategic nuclear forces.

The head of Iran’s atomic energy organisation, Mohammad Eslami, has arrived in Moscow for talks, Iranian state-run media said on Monday (September 22, 2025), as the U.N. considers whether to reimpose sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear programme.

On Friday (September 19, 2025), the 15-member U.N. Security Council rejected a draft resolution to permanently lift sanctions on Tehran, a move backed by Russia and China, and who oppose efforts by Britain, France and Germany to reimpose U.N. sanctions.

The European nations accuse Tehran of failing to abide by a 2015 deal with world powers that aimed to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies having any such intention and Russia says it supports Tehran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy.

Mr. Eslami, who is also Iran’s Vice-President, told Iranian state media that bilateral cooperation agreements would be signed during his visit to Russia, including a plan to construct eight nuclear power plants as Tehran seeks to reach 20 GW of nuclear energy capacity by 2040.

“Contract negotiations have taken place and with the signing of the agreement this week, we will enter the operational steps,” Mr. Eslami said.

Iran, which suffers from electricity shortages during high-demand months, only has one operating nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr which was built by Russia and has a capacity of around 1 GW.

Britain, France and Germany have offered to delay reinstating sanctions for up to six months — to allow space for talks on a long-term deal on Tehran’s nuclear program — if Iran restores access for U.N. nuclear inspectors, addresses concerns about its stock of enriched uranium, and engages in talks with the United States.

Any delay on reimposing sanctions would require a Security Council resolution. If a deal on an extension can’t be reached by the end of September 27, then all U.N. sanctions will be reimposed.