With high casualty figures and the slow pace of Russia’s territorial gains, President Vladimir V. Putin could face years more of a grinding war of attrition in Ukraine.

Since the beginning of 2025, the Russian army has lost 200,000 troops in the war against Ukraine, according to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrskyi. "200,000 is the total enemy loss since the beginning of this year.

Since last sitting down with Ukraine to talk peace, Russia has launched four of its five largest drone attacks against the country, killed more than 340 of its civilians and continued to peddle its false narrative about the unprovoked war it has been waging for more than a decade.

Representatives from Russia and Ukraine gather for peace talks in Istanbul. The meeting comes after the two countries each launched large-scale drone attacks on one another over the weekend, including an audacious Ukrainian strike on Russia's bomber aircraft fleet.