After more than two years of grinding, deadly warfare in Ukraine, with Russia’s invasion lurching through its third year, is it time for Kyiv to consider negotiating with Moscow? On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer talks with Yaroslav Trofimov, The Wall Street Journal's Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, about the challenges Ukraine faces, including flagging morale and a struggle to expand military recruiting. Despite recent polls suggesting Ukrainians are more open to a peace deal, Trofimov stresses that Russia’s ultimate goals are clear: total destruction of Ukrainian national identity and culture. The traumatic history of Russian aggression during the Soviet Era looms large in Ukraine’s collective consciousness, and most Ukrainians oppose any compromise unless all internationally recognized territory is returned. Without security guarantees from NATO and Western allies, Trofimov warns that Russia will continue its assault until it controls all of Ukraine. Though Bremmer and Trofimov spoke in July before Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, the overall situation remains unchanged: no clear path to military victory, hundreds of thousands of casualties, and nearly 20% of Ukraine still occupied. And if Donald Trump wins a second term, continued US military support is uncertain. So where does this leave the Ukrainian people? Nowhere good.
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