Last month, a poll conducted by the Zerkalo Tizhnya news outlet raised eyebrows with an estimate that 44% of Ukrainians are nowready for peace talks. That’s quite a jump from the 23% from a similar poll in May 2023. The most recent poll came before Ukraine’s surprise push into Russian territory over the past week.
Russia’s Vladimir Putin speculated Monday that Ukraine’s incursionis designed to force peace talks. What are the odds of Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky sitting at a table together for negotiations to end the war?
Very, very low. On the one hand, no one believes Ukrainian forces are about to encircle the Kremlin. They’vedone strikingly well to push as far as they have – about 12 km (7.4 miles) into Russian territory, according to Alexei Smirnov, governor of Russia’s Kursk province. The Ukrainians have certainly disrupted the border region. Some121,000 Russians have had to leave their homes and another 59,000 should do the same, Smirnov said on Monday.
But it will take much more than that to persuade Putin that he can’t win more Ukrainian land, particularly if Donald Trump wins the US election and pressures Zelensky to make concessions. For his part, Zelensky is unlikely to come to the bargaining table unless he believes Putin is ready to compromise or that Ukraine is on the brink of collapse. Neither of those developments is on the horizon, and Ukraine’s surprisingly successful cross-border attack doesn’t change that.
With the US leading production and China driving new reactor development, Bank of America breaks down the who, what, where, when, and why behind nuclear’s return. Stay ahead of global energy trends with Bank of America Institute.
Chris, an Army veteran, started his Walmart journey over 25 years ago as an hourly associate. Today, he manages a Distribution Center and serves as a mentor, helping others navigate their own paths to success. At Walmart, associates have the opportunity to take advantage of the pathways, perks, and pay that come with the job — with or without a college degree. In fact, more than 75% of Walmart management started as hourly associates. Learn more about how over 130,000 associates were promoted into roles of greater responsibility and higher pay in FY25.
Last week, at the Munich Security Conference, a group of global technology providers, including Microsoft, announced the Trusted Tech Alliance — committed to shared, verifiable principles for trusted, transparent, and resilient technology across borders. At a moment of economic volatility and zero-sum technological competition, countries and customers are demanding greater accountability from technology providers. The Alliance addresses this by bringing together companies from across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America around shared commitments: transparent governance, secure development practices, supply chain oversight, open digital ecosystem, and respect for the rule of law — ensuring the benefits of emerging technologies strengthen public trust while driving job creation and economic growth. Explore the Trusted Tech Alliance here.