Ukrainian Morale Is Key as Russia Keeps Up War of Attrition, Say Experts

Defense analyst Tim Ripley says ‘neither side seems to have the technology or the forces to achieve a decisive breakthrough’ in the conflict in Ukraine.

A soldier walks through the ruins of the town of Kostyantynivka, in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, on Dec. 20, 2025. Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade via AP

As peace talks to resolve the brutal Russia–Ukraine war drag on, experts say neither side is willing to back down, and Ukrainian resilience is key in the face of Russia’s strategy of attritional warfare.

In recent developments, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Dec. 25 told reporters in Moscow that “there is slow but steady progress” in talks with Washington on a possible settlement between Russia and Ukraine, while accusing “a group of countries, primarily Western European ones” of trying to “torpedo these efforts and derail the whole diplomatic progress that has been achieved.”