Is Ukraine ready to end the war?

- YouTube

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.

GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).

New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don''t miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO’s YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).

More from GZERO Media

A woman lights a cigarette placed in a placard depicting Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, during a demonstration, after the Hungarian parliament passed a law that bans LGBTQ+ communities from holding the annual Pride march and allows a broader constraint on freedom of assembly, in Budapest, Hungary, on March 25, 2025.
REUTERS/Marton Monus

Hungary’s capital will proceed with Saturday’s Pride parade celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, despite the rightwing national government’s recent ban on the event.

American President Donald Trump's X Page is seen displayed on a smartphone with a Tiktok logo in the background
Avishek Das / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

In August 1991, a handful of high-ranking Soviet officials launched a military coup to halt what they believed (correctly) was the steady disintegration of the Soviet Union. Their first step was to seize control of the flow of information across the USSR by ordering state television to begin broadcasting a Bolshoi Theatre production ofSwan Lake on a continuous loop until further notice.

Small businesses are more than just corner shops and local services. They’re a driving force of economic growth, making up 90% of all businesses globally. As the global middle class rapidly expands, new opportunities are emerging for entrepreneurs to launch and grow small businesses.

U.S. President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at a NATO leaders summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025.
REUTERS

The two-day NATO summit at the Hague wrapped on Wednesday. The top line? At an event noticeably scripted to heap flattery on Donald Trump, alliance members agreed to the US president’s demand they boost military spending to 5% of GDP over the next decade.