Could The War In Ukraine End Like The Korean War?
A stalemate, a militarized border, and a divided world
Almost a year on from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there does not seem to be an end in sight. The Ukrainians claim that they will not settle for anything less than every inch of territory captured by the Russians, including the Crimean Peninsula, that was lost in 2014. That seems like an ambitious goal that could hold up any true peace talks.
On the other side, Russia has lost far more men and equipment than they anticipated, and their goals remain elusive. If they want to capture the entirety of Ukraine, they are nowhere close to being able to achieve that goal. The official line from the Kremlin is that Russia is trying to “de-Nazify” the country. Has Ukraine been sufficiently deprived of Nazis? Hard to say.
As the war drags on, the chances of the conflict devolving into an awful stalemate grow. Already, offensives and counteroffensive have stalled, and both sides are settling in for a long cold winter. The projected winter stalemate condenses into an unbreakable slog come spring, there is a chance that the war could end as the Korean War ended.
