As Russia's war in Ukraine rages, some experts say options for an end are limited

by The National Desk

Sat, August 13th 2022, 3:09 AM UTC

FILE - A Russian soldier speaks to foreign journalists in front of the ruined Metallurgical Combine Azovstal, in Mariupol, on the territory which is under the Government of the Donetsk People's Republic control, eastern Ukraine, Monday, June 13, 2022. Despite getting bogged down in Ukraine, the Kremlin has resisted announcing a full-blown mobilization, a move that could prove to be very unpopular for President Vladimir Putin. That has led instead to a covert recruitment effort that includes trying to get prisoners to make up for the manpower shortage. This photo was taken during a trip organized by the Russian Ministry of Defense. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Russian soldiers patrol an area of the Metallurgical Combine Azovstal, in Mariupol, on the territory which is under the Government of the Donetsk People's Republic control, eastern Ukraine, on June 13, 2022. Despite getting bogged down in Ukraine, the Kremlin has resisted announcing a full-blown mobilization, a move that could prove to be very unpopular for President Vladimir Putin. That has led instead to a covert recruitment effort that includes trying to get prisoners to make up for the manpower shortage. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Russian soldiers walk through the debris of the Metallurgical Combine Azovstal, in Mariupol, on the territory which is under the Government of the Donetsk People's Republic control, eastern Ukraine, Monday, June 13, 2022. Despite getting bogged down in Ukraine, the Kremlin has resisted announcing a full-blown mobilization, a move that could prove to be very unpopular for President Vladimir Putin. That has led instead to a covert recruitment effort that includes trying to get prisoners to make up for the manpower shortage. This photo was taken during a trip organized by the Russian Ministry of Defense. (AP Photo, File)

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FILE - A Russian soldier speaks to foreign journalists in front of the ruined Metallurgical Combine Azovstal, in Mariupol, on the territory which is under the Government of the Donetsk People's Republic control, eastern Ukraine, Monday, June 13, 2022. Despite getting bogged down in Ukraine, the Kremlin has resisted announcing a full-blown mobilization, a move that could prove to be very unpopular for President Vladimir Putin. That has led instead to a covert recruitment effort that includes trying to get prisoners to make up for the manpower shortage. This photo was taken during a trip organized by the Russian Ministry of Defense. (AP Photo, File)

WASHINGTON (TND) — Russian aggression in Ukraine has turned much of the world against President Vladimir Putin, his policies and his economy but while many are waiting to see a Russian loss, it’s clear that there are no winners in the devasting war.

Nearly six months into the war, there are countless accounts — some more horrific than others — of what has transpired on the ground in Ukraine but when it comes to how the war will end, there has been what many consider a deafening silence.

Some insist that there are only two ways for any war to end: either one side is destroyed or a deal is made.

“The Russians are not going to be destroyed. So that means one way is for Ukraine is going to be destroyed,” said linguist and political dissident Noam Chomsky. “The other way is a negotiated settlement.”

Chomsky, who has for decades been outspoken against the policy of U.S. intervention, has found himself on the same side, oddly, as people like Henry Kissinger.

“The war will have to end by negotiation at some point,” Kissinger told Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait.

Kissinger suggesting a negotiated settlement means Russia gets something in return and he argues that it would be a good place to start.

“The Ukrainians say it’s theirs. I would leave that open for negotiations after the ceasefire,” Kissinger said.

It’s a ceasefire that still seems a long way off, made more difficult, experts say, by the U.S. and the West being intentionally vague — not about who they support but about what the endgame would entail.

“Are we talking about defeating Russia? Are we talking about the status quo ante February 24? Are we talking about the status quo ante 2014? Those are crucial distinctions,” said Garret Martin with the American University School of International Service.

The longer the war drags on and the more territory the Russians take, the more difficult any agreement may become.

“It will be seen as rewarding aggression and that is both a matter of principle and politics quite difficult,” said Samuel Charap with the RAND Corporation.

Still, Charap says the U.S. has a major stake in how the war ends — a reality at times difficult when we’re not the ones doing the fighting.

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