{"id":2704466,"date":"2026-11-15T00:34:32","date_gmt":"2026-11-15T05:34:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-war-must-end-before-its-too-late-for-ukraine\/"},"modified":"2026-11-15T00:36:27","modified_gmt":"2026-11-15T05:36:27","slug":"the-war-must-end-before-its-too-late-for-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-war-must-end-before-its-too-late-for-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"The War Must End Before It\u2019s Too Late for Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-war-must-end-before-its-too-late-for-ukraine%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2704466&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>After U.S.-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi, the piece argues Russia has effectively won: Kyiv won\u2019t join NATO and Russia will take Donbas. Ukraine is suffering heavy casualties,mass emigration,collapsing infrastructure,and weary air defenses while Russian forces advance. The conflict\u2019s aim was blocking NATO expansion and securing Donbas, so negotiations center on territory. Washington may accept a smaller Ukraine with non\u2011NATO security guarantees linked to EU integration. To preserve the nation and save lives, the article contends Ukraine must concede Donbas and drop hopes of NATO membership to pursue a European path.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-blog-post__content s-wysiwyg s-wysiwyg--blog\">\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:30px;\" id=\"elevenlabs-audionative-widget\" data-height=\"90\" data-width=\"100%\" data-frameborder=\"no\" data-scrolling=\"no\" data-publicuserid=\"cb0d9922301244fcc1aeafd0610a8e90a36a320754121ee126557a7416405662\" data-playerurl=\"https:\/\/elevenlabs.io\/player\/index.html\" >Loading the <a href=\"https:\/\/elevenlabs.io\/text-to-speech\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Elevenlabs Text to Speech<\/a> AudioNative Player&#8230;<\/div>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/elevenlabs.io\/player\/audioNativeHelper.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script>                            <\/p>\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap wp-block-paragraph\">After more than eight months without direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, talks between them, mediated by the U.S., resumed in Abu Dhabi last week. Much in the war has changed since the February negotiations. Russia\u2019s terms have not changed, but the certainty of its achieving them has.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three things are certain. The first two: Ukraine will not become a member of NATO, and Russia will obtain most or all of the Donbas. These things are certain because of the third reality: Russia has won the war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ukraine is dying, and the clock is ticking. The only uncertainty is how long Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders will hold out before terminating the life support. <\/p>\n<p>                         <!-- \/22404337467,3946880\/theamericanconservative-Leaderboard-Top -->                         <\/p>\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1742316429780-0' style='min-width: 300px; min-height: 50px; max-width: 100%; '>                         <\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not only are Ukrainian soldiers being killed or maimed at a staggering rate\u2014perhaps as high as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pravda.com.ua\/eng\/news\/2026\/08\/28\/8050796\/\">30,000 a month<\/a>\u2014but the population of Ukraine has been vanishing. Millions of Ukrainians have fled, and many do not plan to return. Almost a quarter million <a href=\"https:\/\/opendatabot.ua\/analytics\/ukrainians-emigration-trend-2026\">left<\/a> in the first half of this year, and many more are on the verge of leaving this winter as life in Kiev becomes unbearable. Among those who stayed, deaths <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/ukraine-stares-down-barrel-population-collapse-2025-12-04\/\">outnumber<\/a> births. Life expectancy is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intellinews.com\/ukraine-is-now-a-country-of-elderly-people-440742\/?source=ukraine\">lowest in Europe<\/a>. There are not enough people to man the labor force or pay taxes for social services.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ukraine can no longer defend itself. Kiev has run out of air defense interceptors and of nations willing and able to supply them. The U.S. supply of Patriot interceptors has slowed to worse than a trickle and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c3vgxznlx7jzo\">may take several years<\/a> to deliver, and Germany has <a href=\"https:\/\/militarywatchmagazine.com\/article\/germany-confirms-no-more-patriot-missiles-ukraine\">told<\/a> Ukraine it has no more to send. As a result, Russian missiles and drones are hitting their targets practically at will. Ukraine\u2019s ports are constricted, and its grain cannot be exported at necessary scale. Its steel mills are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pravda.com.ua\/eng\/news\/2026\/09\/25\/8055006\/\">closing<\/a>, its mining operations are shutting down, and its digital infrastructure is coming under attack. Transportation is at a standstill as key bridges are damaged and hundreds of locomotives destroyed. In Kiev, the capital, blackouts occur semiregularly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And all the while, the Russian armed forces are slowly, but inexorably, advancing across Donbas. Ukraine must acknowledge that inevitability now and save lives. Lost fortress cities can be built further west, but lost lives cannot be recovered.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine was never primarily about territory. The key reasons for the invasion were keeping Ukraine out of NATO and, as the Kremlin sees it, protecting the ethnic Russian citizens of Donbas. The previous Minsk agreements had been meant to solve the latter problem. It was only when Ukraine failed to implement them, the U.S. failed to pressure Ukraine to implement them, and Europe used them as a delaying tactic to arm Ukraine for war on Russia that Moscow saw annexing Donbas as a necessary solution.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, though the war was never fundamentally about territory, the negotiated end to the war is to a large extent about territory. Russia will not end its assault until Donbas is Russian.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Washington may be prepared to recognize that reality as essential for ending the war diplomatically. President Donald Trump recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/donald-trump-2026-post-midterm-elections-interview-60-minutes-transcript\/\">said<\/a> that a negotiated peace is going to happen but that \u201cthey\u2019re gonna end up with a little bit different shape Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. officials <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/world-news\/2026\/11\/09\/trump-says-ukraine-will-have-different-shape-after-war\">reportedly<\/a> believed that privately Kiev has shown flexibility on the issue. Kiev\u2019s willingness to countenance relinquishing territory, however, is understood to be linked to its demand for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-gave-zelenskyy-a-friendly-reality-check-during-their-ukraine-war-talk-report\/\" title=\"Trump Gave Zelenskyy a Fri...ly Reality Check During Their ... ... Talk: Report\">strong security guarantees<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nevertheless, following the Abu Dhabi talks, a Ukrainian source <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/world-news\/2026\/11\/10\/trump-envoys-join-russia-and-ukraine-for-fresh-peace-talks\/\">told<\/a> the <em>Telegraph<\/em> that Ukraine \u201cwill never recognize\u201d Russia\u2019s control of Ukrainian territory, \u201cneither <em>de facto<\/em> nor <em>de jure<\/em>.\u201d Moscow may not demand <em>de jure<\/em> recognition of its control of Donbas, but a rejection of <em>de facto<\/em> recognition means the war goes on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the first day of talks in Abu Dhabi, Zelensky <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ZelenskyyUa\/status\/2120106980920483854?s=20\">posted<\/a> on X that \u201cceding Ukrainian land for peace\u201d is not \u201cabout reality\u201d but just \u201cabstract words.\u201d He complained that the Americans ask, \u201cCan you exchange Donbas for security?\u201d but then define security as \u201cNot NATO, but similar to NATO.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"c-subscribe-email\" >\n<div class=\"l-container\">\n<div class=\"c-subscribe-email__wrap\">\n<div class=\"c-subscribe-email__head\">\n<h4 class=\"c-subscribe-email__heading\">Subscribe Today<\/h4>\n<h5 class=\"c-subscribe-email__subheading\">Get daily emails in your inbox<\/h5>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-subscribe-email__form-wrap\">      <!-- Begin Mailchimp Signup Form -->      <\/p>\n<div id=\"mc_embed_signup\">\n<form id=\"mc-embedded-subscribe-form\" class=\"validate\" action=\"https:\/\/theamericanconservative.us4.list-manage.com\/subscribe\/post?u=442e644c01f8e54e26e4ff3f8&#038;id=f7b67cac40\" method=\"post\" name=\"mc-embedded-subscribe-form\" novalidate target=\"_blank\">\n<div id=\"mc_embed_signup_scroll\">\n<div class=\"c-subscribe-email__fields\">              <label for=\"mce-EMAIL\" class=\"u-screenreader-text\">Email Address:<\/label>              <input id=\"mce-EMAIL\" class=\"c-subscribe-email__field\" name=\"EMAIL\" type=\"email\" value=\"\" placeholder=\"Your Email\" \/>              <input id=\"mc-embedded-subscribe\" class=\"c-subscribe-email__submit o-button o-button--red-500 o-button--solid\" name=\"subscribe\" type=\"submit\" value=\"Subscribe\" \/>            <\/div>\n<div id=\"mce-responses\" class=\"clear\">\n<div id=\"mce-error-response\" class=\"response\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"mce-success-response\" class=\"response\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>              <!-- real people should not fill this in and expect good things - do not remove this or risk form bot signups-->            <\/p>\n<div class=\"u-screenreader-text\" aria-hidden=\"true\">              <input tabindex=\"-1\" name=\"b_442e644c01f8e54e26e4ff3f8_f7b67cac40\" type=\"text\" value=\"\" \/>            <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>      <!--End mc_embed_signup-->          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He has a point. But that is as good as he is going to get. Putin will not end a war to keep Ukraine out of NATO (and NATO out of Ukraine) by agreeing to NATO Article 5 security guarantees for Ukraine. But the U.S. has made it clear that it won\u2019t agree to that either. Republican and Democratic administrations have made clear they would not fight a direct war with Russia over the Donbas. And Europe has made it clear by their actions that they will not, and cannot, guarantee Ukraine\u2019s security without significant U.S. backing. They lack the troops, the technological capabilities, and the finances to do so.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The best security guarantees Ukraine is likely to get are commitments that fall short of NATO: some weaker, \u201csimilar to NATO\u201d form of Article 5 coupled with security assurances that come with European Union membership. Ironically, the strongest security guarantee Ukraine could get would involve NATO\u2019s closing its door to Ukraine, thereby easing Russia\u2019s own security concerns and beginning the process of establishing the wider European security architecture now apparently on the table.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Ukraine to survive, the war must be ended now, so, fair or unfair, Russian control of Donbas must be conceded and NATO membership must be taken off the table. Once freed from war, Ukraine would remain a sovereign nation on most of its territory, and it could turn westward, taking a path that leads to the European Union. It won\u2019t have Donbas, and it won\u2019t have NATO. But it won\u2019t border a threatened Russia.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Russia wins; Donbas to Russia; Ukraine&#8217;s future grim.<\/p>\n<p>If you want a longer paraphrase or a version in a different style, tell me the length and tone you prefer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4480,"featured_media":2704467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/tac.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284522751.jpg?auto=compress&#038;crop=faces%2Centropy&#038;fit=crop&#038;fm=jpg&#038;h=630&#038;ixlib=php-3.3.1&#038;q=80&#038;w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[13427,3817,87793,6991,50434],"class_list":["post-2704466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-ceasefire","tag-diplomacy","tag-humanitarian-crisis-2","tag-ukraine","tag-war-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/tac.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284522751.jpg?auto=compress&#038;crop=faces%2Centropy&#038;fit=crop&#038;fm=jpg&#038;h=630&#038;ixlib=php-3.3.1&#038;q=80&#038;w=1200","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2704466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4480"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2704466"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2704466\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2704470,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2704466\/revisions\/2704470"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2704467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2704466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2704466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2704466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}