11 Ways the Ukraine War Could End

I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity. — Dwight D Eisenhower

All wars end eventually, even the hundred-year war. As this one approaches the one-year mark, it’s a far cry from the two-week war Putin anticipated. Yet the war seems mired in a bloody stalemate so, let’s look at the possible scenarios for ending the war.

1. Ukraine Wins — Does winning mean taking back all lost territory since 2014? Can winning mean ceding some territory? While that’s no doubt that’s what many of the European governments would wish given the sacrifices Ukraine has made, should they? Should Putin’s aggression be rewarded in any way? Sadly, the end of most wars means compromise, and in this case, it means giving Putin something he can claim victory for at home. He will accept nothing less will Zelenskyy?

2. Russian Wins — No matter how corrupt and incompetent the Russian military is, they have the manpower and the weapons to win. They don’t care how many men they sacrifice, and Putin has already said he’s opening a blank checkbook on military spending. So, Ukraine will lose the war if the West does not match any increase in Russian aggression with an ever increasing number of more sophisticated weapons. That is a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse escalation but Ukraine for all its…