Image by Nastia Petruk.

Separating the Practical from the Ideal

Intractable conflicts are wars without end, and Russia’s war with Ukraine seems to fit the bill. Now three and a half years old, the war goes on without any sign of a letup in the violence. Neither side seems willing to give an inch; both sides seem either to believe in ultimate victory or to find insufficient incentives to stop fighting.

To the contrary, their outside supporters continue to provide weapons and military supplies that ensure more destruction and casualties. Russian bombardments are focusing on major Ukraine energy facilities, and Russia is conducting “hybrid warfare” that includes jet and drone crossings of NATO country territory. The Trump administration said it was considering supplying Ukraine with Tomahawk long-range missiles, which Russia has warned would be a serious escalation. No one has offered a well-reasoned peace plan or threatened sanctions severe enough to cause strategic rethinking in Moscow or Kyiv.

Now President Trump is scheduled to meet with Vladimir Putin in Budapest, following a meeting of Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington. After a phone conversation with Putin, Trump is back to believing that Putin “wants to end the war.” That might quash the Tomahawk deal, but will it resurrect the cease-fire idea?

Let’s not wait to find out. Instead, let’s consider what might halt—not settle, but halt—this war. To clarify, I’m not aiming at what is fair or just, but........

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