{"id":4032,"date":"2026-02-24T23:19:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T23:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=4032"},"modified":"2026-02-24T23:19:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T23:19:57","slug":"russia-ukraine-war-marks-fourth-anniversary-without-progress-in-peace-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=4032","title":{"rendered":"Russia-Ukraine War Marks Fourth Anniversary Without Progress in Peace Talks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at where the <strong>Russia-Ukraine<\/strong> <strong>war<\/strong> stands after four years, a diplomatic dustup between <strong>France<\/strong> and the <strong>United States<\/strong>, and the latest escalation in the monthslong <strong>China-Japan<\/strong> feud.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Europe\u2019s War<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>On Feb. 24, 2022, Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, kicking off Europe\u2019s biggest conflict since World War II. Four years later, that <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/02\/20\/ukraine-russia-war-anniversary-trump-europe-nato-geopolitics-global-order\/\">war continues to rage<\/a>. But despite staggeringly high casualties on both sides and intense U.S. pressure on Moscow and Kyiv to end the war, a peace deal remains elusive.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at where the <strong>Russia-Ukraine<\/strong> <strong>war<\/strong> stands after four years, a diplomatic dustup between <strong>France<\/strong> and the <strong>United States<\/strong>, and the latest escalation in the monthslong <strong>China-Japan<\/strong> feud.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-fallback\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">\n                <\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/category\/world-brief\/\">Sign up<\/a>  to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<form data-shortcode-newsletter=\"world_brief\" class=\"newsletter-unit-signup newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode email-capture--step-1 newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief newsletter-shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"show-on-email-capture--signed-up hide-from-newsletter-subscriber newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode--container\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit newsletter-row\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/h2>\n<p>\n                        <button class=\"button\">Sign Up<\/button>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"grid--flex newsletter-world_brief newsletter-signup-container\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"World Brief sign up form\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<div class=\"buttons\">\n<div class=\"hide-from-newsletter-subscriber privacy-policy-container\">\n<div class=\"privacy-policy-acknowledge\">\n<p><small>By submitting your email, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/termsofuse\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n    <label for=\"email-world_brief\">Enter your email<\/label><br \/>\n    <input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" class=\"hide-from-reg hide-from-sub\" id=\"email-world_brief\" aria-required=\"true\" required=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>    <button class=\"button button--signup \" data-newsletter-id=\"world_brief\" data-sourceid=\"In-article unit\" type=\"submit\"><br \/>\n      <span class=\"sign-up-text\">Sign Up<\/span><br \/>\n      <span class=\"loading-text\">Loading&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Europe\u2019s War<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>On Feb. 24, 2022, Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, kicking off Europe\u2019s biggest conflict since World War II. Four years later, that <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/02\/20\/ukraine-russia-war-anniversary-trump-europe-nato-geopolitics-global-order\/\">war continues to rage<\/a>. But despite staggeringly high casualties on both sides and intense U.S. pressure on Moscow and Kyiv to end the war, a peace deal remains elusive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[W]e have defended our independence; we have not lost our statehood; [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has not achieved his goals,\u201d Ukrainian President <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ZelenskyyUa\/status\/2026183302969774260\">Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a> said on Tuesday as the conflict entered its fifth year. \u201cWe have preserved Ukraine, and we will do everything to secure peace and justice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kremlin spokesperson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/ukraine-russia-war-fifth-year-zelenskyy-putin\/\">Dmitry Peskov<\/a> appeared to agree with Kyiv on Tuesday that Moscow has yet to fulfill all of its wartime ambitions. \u201cThe goals haven\u2019t been fully achieved yet, which is why the military operation continues,\u201d he told reporters.<\/p>\n<p>Over the course of four years, around 1.8 million Ukrainian and Russian soldiers combined (or 1.2 million Russian and 500,000-600,000 Ukrainian troops) are estimated to have been killed, wounded, or reported missing in action, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/csis-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com\/s3fs-public\/2026-01\/260127_Jones_War_Ukraine.pdf?VersionId=Ktl9nIJ7y6vMMVwx_41fvJ3uqRJMWxMn\">report<\/a> last month from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank. That does not include the tens of thousands of (largely Ukrainian) civilians who have been killed in the crossfire; Kyiv has repeatedly accused Moscow of targeting civilians, a claim that Russia denies. According to the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, last year was the <a href=\"https:\/\/ukraine.ohchr.org\/en\/2025-deadliest-year-for-civilians-in-Ukraine-since-2022-UN-human-rights-monitors-find#:~:text=Kyiv%2C%2012%20January%202025%20%E2%80%93%20The,2%2C514%20civilians%20and%20injured%2012%2C142.\">deadliest<\/a> for civilians in the country since 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Around <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/russia-ukraine-war-numbers-f023cd82917ccb29ad2dda54ea589249\">9.6 million<\/a> Ukrainian civilians have also either fled the country or been internally displaced since the war\u2019s onset. These numbers are expected to grow as Moscow capitalizes on the region\u2019s harsh winter to escalate its <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/29\/russia-ukraine-energy-attacks-winter-cold\/\">attacks on energy facilities<\/a>\u2014cutting power and heating for millions.<\/p>\n<p>The high casualties are partly due to technological changes on the battlefield. A Latvian intelligence report <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/article\/latvian-report-drones-are-mass-killers-on-the-ukraine-front\/\">revealed<\/a> last month that drones were responsible for 70 percent to 80 percent of all deaths and injuries on both sides. The <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/11\/13\/ukraine-pokrovsk-russia-war-drones\/\">emerging prevalence<\/a> of drone warfare has led Russia, Ukraine, and other European nations to invest in new <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/01\/europe-drone-wall-russia-incursions-denmark-poland-us-government-shutdown\/\">counter-drone technology<\/a> as part of their increased defense spending pledges.<\/p>\n<p>World military expenditures rose to <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/12\/30\/stats-conflict-civilian-targeting-displacement-military-expenditures-nato-journalists\/\">$2.7 trillion<\/a> in 2024, according to a Stockholm International Peace Research Institute report\u2014their highest year-on-year rise since at least 1988. Experts believe that was largely due to fears of spillover violence from the Russia-Ukraine war. Such concerns have pushed NATO to increase its <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/06\/nato-5-percent-defense-spending-trump-russia-ukraine\/\">minimum defense spending requirement<\/a> from 2 percent to 5 percent of each country\u2019s GDP, and it pushed the alliance to finally admit <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2023\/04\/04\/finland-sweden-nato-neutral-austria-ireland-switzerland-russia-war\/\">Finland<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/02\/04\/sweden-nato-bid-russia-baltic-sea-turkey-hungary\/\">Sweden<\/a> into its ranks.<\/p>\n<p>But that is only the start of European spending habits during the war. Last year, European military aid to Ukraine rose by 67 percent above the 2022-2024 average, with nonmilitary aid increasing by 59 percent, according to the Kiel Institute\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kielinstitut.de\/publications\/news\/ukraine-support-after-4-years-of-war-europe-steps-up\/\">Ukraine Support Tracker<\/a>. Meanwhile, U.S. support for Ukraine has reversed course. Following U.S. President Donald Trump taking power in January 2025, total U.S. military aid allocations to Kyiv in 2025 were 13 percent below the 2022-2024 average.<\/p>\n<p>Trump initially vowed to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office. Yet, despite months of U.S.-brokered peace talks, little headway has been made. Moscow wants Kyiv to surrender vast swaths of its land in the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/08\/21\/donbas-importance-putin-ukraine-russia-war-peace-negotiations\/\">Donbas region<\/a>, including territory that Ukrainian troops still control. Zelensky has rejected a unilateral withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the Donbas. Meanwhile, although Russian forces occupy nearly 20 percent of Ukraine\u2019s territory, they gained less than 1 percent of Ukrainian territory in the past year.<\/p>\n<p>With another round of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/europe\/next-round-ukraine-peace-talks-could-be-this-week-kyiv-says-2026-02-23\/\">peace talks<\/a> possible in the coming days, most analysts remain doubtful that negotiators will be able to resolve the impasse any time soon.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Today\u2019s Most Read<\/strong><\/h3>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>What We\u2019re Following<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>No show, no access. <\/strong>France\u2019s diplomatic quarrel with the United States reached <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/france-us-ambassador-charles-kushner-648b599a32730b0e28a80329a1f45ba6?user_email=6b04284e4d00370f16d3dac0a626e01bf24d86e4d6995646867da6aa680488d0&amp;utm_medium=Morning_Wire&amp;utm_source=Sailthru_AP&amp;utm_campaign=Morning%20Wire%20Tue%20Feb%2024%2C%202026&amp;utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers\">new heights<\/a> on Tuesday, when French Foreign Minister Jean-No\u00ebl Barrot said U.S. Ambassador Charles Kushner would be barred from access to French government officials until he acquiesces to a summons order. \u201cIt will, naturally, affect his capacity to exercise his mission in our country,\u201d Barrot said, adding that Kushner is only \u201cbringing difficulties on himself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The French Foreign Ministry summoned Kushner on Monday in response to Trump administration comments last week concerning the killing of a 23-year-old far-right French activist. \u201cViolent radical leftism is on the rise and its role in Quentin Deranque\u2019s death demonstrates the threat it poses to public safety,\u201d the U.S. State Department\u2019s Counterterrorism Bureau <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/StateDeptCT\/status\/2024571681121919440\">posted<\/a> on X. Some right-wing French lawmakers have accused the hard-left France Unbowed party of bearing some responsibility in the attack, which France Unbowed has denied.<\/p>\n<p>This was the second time that Kushner has failed to respond to a formal summoning. Last August, Kushner was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/world\/europe\/france-ambassador-charles-kushner-banned-meeting-officials-summons-rcna260380\">summoned<\/a> over a letter he wrote to French President Emmanuel Macron accusing Paris of not doing enough to combat antisemitism, but Kushner sent his No. 2 instead.<\/p>\n<p>However, in a call later on Tuesday, Kushner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/europe\/20260224-us-envoy-kushner-pledges-not-to-interfere-in-france-s-affairs-diplomatic-source-says\">promised<\/a> Barrot that he would not \u201cinterfere\u201d in France\u2019s domestic affairs. According to a U.S. Embassy spokesperson, the two officials \u201cspoke today in a frank and amicable call, reaffirming their shared commitment to working together, along with all other ministers and French officials, on the many issues that impact the United States and France, particularly as the two countries celebrate 250 years of rich diplomatic relations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The two officials also agreed to meet in the coming days, a French diplomatic source told FP\u2019s World Brief, on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment on the record.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dual-use export controls. <\/strong>China\u2019s Commerce Ministry <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/24\/world\/asia\/china-japan-export-ban.html\">announced<\/a> on Tuesday that it will block exports to Japanese companies that have ties to the defense sector. The restrictions target the shipment of \u201cdual-use\u201d products (or those with both military and civilian purposes) to 20 Japanese entities, with another 20 corporations being placed on a watch list. It is unclear whether rare-earth exports will be subject to the ban.<\/p>\n<p>Beijing said the restrictions are in response to Japanese companies participating in \u201cenhancing Japan\u2019s military capabilities\u201d following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/11\/18\/china-japan-feud-takaichi-diplomacy-history\/\">warning<\/a> in November that Tokyo could take military action if Chinese forces attacked Taiwan. Since then, Takaichi has vowed to increase <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/02\/09\/japan-snap-elections-results-sanae-takaichi-supermajority-ldp\/\">defense spending<\/a> and has floated amending the country\u2019s pacifist constitution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese measures aim to prevent Japan\u2019s \u2018remilitarization\u2019 and nuclear ambitions and are fully justifiable, reasonable and lawful,\u201d China\u2019s Commerce Ministry said, marking the latest escalation in the two nations\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/11\/25\/sanae-takaichi-china-japan-taiwan\/\">monthslong feud<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Tokyo <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/china-japan-export-controls-45b91393374ddaebcd6d381e51eefc12\">denounced<\/a> the export controls as \u201cabsolutely unacceptable.\u201d \u201cThe measures announced today will never be tolerated,\u201d said Kei Sato, Japan\u2019s deputy chief cabinet secretary. \u201cThis is deplorable indeed. We strongly protest to China and urge them to lift\u201d the controls.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tariff confusion. <\/strong>A temporary 10 percent U.S. tariff on all foreign imports not covered by exemptions went into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday, according to a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) <a href=\"https:\/\/content.govdelivery.com\/accounts\/USDHSCBP\/bulletins\/40b3b7b\">bulletin<\/a> issued on Monday evening. These duties, which are effective for 150 days, fall under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act\u2014rather than the previously used <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/11\/03\/us-supreme-court-tariff-case-constitution-ieepa-trump\/\">International Emergency Economic Powers Act<\/a> (IEEPA)\u2014and are imposed on top of sweeping U.S. levies already in place.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Trump had <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/02\/20\/supreme-court-tariffs-trump-ruling-ieepa\/\">overstepped<\/a> his executive powers when he used IEEPA to impose tariffs on virtually all of Washington\u2019s trading partners. In response, Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2026\/02\/imposing-a-temporary-import-surcharge-to-address-fundamental-international-payments-problems\/\">issued<\/a> a presidential proclamation imposing new 10 percent duties under a different authority; a day later, Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/116109447886304328\">pledged<\/a> to increase that rate to 15 percent. A U.S. official told the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/61c2e6d6-5e82-471d-b189-3d57d53407ae\"><em>Financial Times<\/em><\/a> on Tuesday that the 15 percent rate \u201cis being worked on and will come later,\u201d though the source did not offer a timeline for implementation. The CBP bulletin did not explain why the lower 10 percent tariff was being used instead.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court ruling and new tariffs have sparked widespread uncertainty over how they may impact existing trade deals. The European Parliament was scheduled to ratify the U.S.-EU trade deal on Tuesday, but the body chose on Monday to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/article\/eu-parliament-puts-us-trade-deal-ice-after-latest-donald-trump-tariff-hit\/\">postpone the vote<\/a> amid concerns that the 10 percent levy violates the two powers\u2019 already agreed-upon contract.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Odds and Ends<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>It may not be a \u201cDear John\u201d letter, but a \u201cDear Keir\u201d note still packs a punch. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese backed the removal of <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2020\/09\/04\/jeffrey-epstein-prince-andrew-royal-family-abuse-britain\/\">Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor<\/a> from the royal line of succession in a letter sent to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday. (Rather than use Starmer\u2019s formal title, though, Albanese <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Tony_Diver\/status\/2025910064704262274\">crossed out<\/a> his last name and wrote in \u201cKeir.\u201d) The U.K. government is considering introducing legislation to divest Mountbatten-Windsor of his succession rights over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But making such a change would also require approval from the 14 Commonwealth countries other than the U.K., where King Charles III is head of state, including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.<\/p>\n<p>New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2026-02-23\/australia-backs-removal-of-andrew-line-of-succession\/106377738\">said<\/a> that he will also support the decision, though he seemed to dismiss the need for sending his own \u201cDear Keir\u201d letter. \u201cWe can announce it any way but our position is clear: it\u2019s the same position as the Australian position but rather than a formal letter, we\u2019ve been having conversations directly with the UK government,\u201d Luxon said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/02\/24\/russia-ukraine-war-fourth-anniversary-peace-talks-zelensky-putin\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at where the Russia-Ukraine war stands after four years, a diplomatic dustup between France and the United States, and the latest escalation in the monthslong China-Japan feud. Europe\u2019s War On Feb. 24, 2022, Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, kicking off Europe\u2019s biggest conflict since [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4033,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4032","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}