Russia over the weekend launched its largestaerial attackon Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, while maintaining pressure on Kyiv's forces at the front line.
The future of direct peace talks is uncertain, with hopes for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dissolving in discord between the two leaders.
The discussion of security guarantees for Ukraine is clouded by questions about Washington's commitment and vocal opposition from the Kremlin to any Western forces in Ukraine.
With peace seeming as distant as ever despite his efforts to end the biggest war in Europe since 1945, US President Donald Trump has hinted that new sanctions against Russia could come soon, and Washington is huddling with the EU about potential punishments for Moscow.
Will the war grind on into 2026? Or is there a chance for a change? Here's what led to this moment -- and what to watch in the coming days and weeks.
Problematic Peace Talks
This spring and summer, Russia and Ukraine held their first direct negotiations on the war since the first few months of the full-scale invasion, with delegations meeting in Istanbul three times between May and July. Trump, meanwhile, met with Putin in Alaska on August 15 and with Zelenskyy and European leaders three days later.
The Ukraine-Russia talks produced agreements on exchanges of prisoners and the remains of soldiers but brought no visible progress to toward peace or even a cease-fire. For many in Ukraine and the West, in fact, they hardened the impression that Putin, whose goal is the subjugation of Ukraine, does not want peace on anything short of his terms.
No date has been set for a new round of negotiations, and Putin has fended off calls by Trump and Zelenskyy for a face-to-face meeting with the Ukrainian president by insisting that if it is held anytime soon, by which he seems to mean before a de facto Ukrainian surrender, then it must be held in Moscow -- an obvious nonstarter for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy, who for months has proposed meeting in a third country, responded by saying Putin could come to Kyiv -- also a nonstarter, albeit for Moscow.
"I can't go to Moscow when my country's under missiles, under attack, each day. I can't go to the capital of this terrorist," Zelenskyy told ABC News on September 5.
Bombs And Battles
About 48 hours later, Russia unleashed its biggest aerial attack on Ukraine yet, firing 810 drones and decoys in an assault that hit hardest in Kyiv, where the government headquarters was damaged and three people were killed, including a mother and her 3-month-old child, authorities said.
