The endless war in Ukraine

Peace will come to Ukraine, but how and when? Fourteen months after Russia's invasion and nine years after their occupation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, the largest European conflict since Hitler's 1939 invasion of Poland is an intractable tragedy destroying two societies. The horrific loss of soldiers on both sides continues. In Ukraine civilians are in danger in war zones and from targeted attacks throughout the country.

Look to AP – Associated Press – or other analyses to learn of the probably over 70,000 Russian-side combat deaths and perhaps 250,000 total casualties—personnel wounded, killed, and missing—during the first year of the war. These casualty estimates include regular Russian soldiers, militia fighters and private contractors from the Wagner Group

Almost certainly, over 10,000 Ukrainian civilians have died and 100,000 of their soldiers.

Over 8 million refugees have fled Ukraine. Another 5.4 million are internally displaced.

Close to 18 million people in Ukraine need humanitarian aid daily.

And the cost of the war? The United States, Europe and institutions have provided or pledged $150 billion to date.

What is the price of peace? How to end the war?

Both sides are entrenched, not willing to concede territory. A united Ukraine is an impossibility. Russia controlling any of Ukraine is an impossibility. Military victory for either side is also an impossibility. The only certainty of combat and battle plans are death, destruction and a continuing black hole of costs: human treasure, blood draining into the ground, billions of dollars burnt, exploded and up in smoke.

Getting both sides to agree on the truth and reality of this living out the definition of a war of attrition needs to be a top priority of anyone talking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy or Russian President Vladimir Putin.

North American, European and Asian leaders who have visited Zelenskyy must bond together and speak with a single voice, insisting on peace forged by diplomacy and not won by combat.

The surest way to peace is for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be deposed internally, best by the masses but more likely by fellow oligarchs. That is speculative thinking and not a prayer, much less a plan. Assume the immediate future will be similar to the immediate past. How to get to peace with Putin?

The entire Ukrainian people are united in defense of their country. Every citizen is adversely affected, having lost and seen families and friends die; living it physically and psychologically themselves: displaced; their homes, neighborhoods and entire cities destroyed; the rest of their lives hijacked for healing, rebuilding and reconstructing every aspect of their society.

Now the Ukrainian people must bear the burden of demanding a just peace, pushing their government to enter negotiations with the Russians.

Neither side will move an inch on giving up or gaining back territory. Both sides must move an inch toward talking. Combat will end when adversaries agree to stop fighting. Agreeing to a stop, a cease fire, is a start to ending fighting.

The very ugly, tragic reality of war is not moving either country to protect their forces by stopping. In the absence of compassion and humanity, how can the conflict cease?

Our billions in tax dollars are funding the war. The United States must be courageous enough to invest billions of dollars over the lengthy decades to fund what will be a slow-to-develop-but-must-make-progress peace.

The war will end one day. That day is not here yet.