The Death and Destruction Need to End

Kelly Sadler | August 19, 2025

(The Washington Times) — “No Soviet or Russian war since World War II has even come close to Ukraine in terms of fatality rate,” a study released by the think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies reported in June.

Russia, with a population of about 144 million, has amassed 950,000 casualties so far, with as many as 250,000 dead. Ukraine, with a population of 37 million, has sustained nearly 400,000 casualties, with 60,000 to 100,000 deaths, according to the study. President Trump said nearly 20,000 Russian soldiers died in July alone as he called the war between the two nations “ridiculous” and the deaths “unnecessary” in an Aug. 1 Truth Social post.

Ukrainian troops undoubtedly have fought bravely since Russia invaded their country in 2022. However, after 3½ years of battle, they are exhausted, outnumbered, on the defensive and increasingly frustrated with their generals. It’s become a war of attrition, with Russia simply having more meat to grind and a leader willing to grind it.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who met with Mr. Trump on Monday, faced two options: Lose land in exchange for peace, security and sovereignty, or continue to fight a war he can’t win alone, potentially risking his nation entirely.

Mr. Trump has been crystal clear: This isn’t his war. He would much prefer to focus on domestic issues and can’t force a peace between two nations an ocean away that are not interested.

Russia purportedly wants Crimea, which it has controlled since 2014, and the Donbas region of Ukraine, where it has about 88% control. Ukraine doesn’t want to reward Russia’s aggression by ceding any territory, and it wants security guarantees from the U.S. and European allies, if not full North Atlantic Treaty Organization membership.

The latter is a red line for Russia. Still, Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly conceded last week that he would allow land-hallowed Ukrainian security forces, akin to the peace deal signed between North and South Korea in 1953.

It’s the best deal Mr. Zelenskyy is going to get.

Those rooting against peace say this solution rewards Mr. Putin, who should be condemned for his invasion. No one is arguing that Mr. Putin is in the right; rather, they’re looking at the situation realistically. Ukraine lacks the manpower, resources and political will from the West to win its battle.

Wars have been waged in Europe throughout the 20th century, with territories exchanged in settlements. Finland was forced to sign the Treaty of Moscow in 1940, in which it ceded 9% of its land to the Soviet Union after the Red Army invaded it. A year later, Finland waged war on the Soviets to regain the territory, but it was defeated three years later, ceding even more land to the USSR.

The Moscow Armistice, signed in 1944 between Finland and the Soviet Union, ended the fighting, restricted the size of the Finnish armed forces, required Finland to pay reparations and allowed the USSR to lease a naval base adjacent to Helsinki, granting the Soviets transit rights. Despite these limitations, Finland resisted a full communist takeover and maintained its democratic and capitalist systems. In 2023, it became a NATO member.

For Mr. Zelenskyy, this is the path forward. With European security guarantees and U.S. support, Ukraine can begin to rebuild and remain independent.

Will Mr. Putin accept? Though many have tried, no one can read the former KGB leader’s mind.

The bottom line is that Ukraine must agree to end its suffering. Britain estimates it could be another four years until Russia fully controls the Donbas region — another four years of death and destruction in Ukraine.

“I’m not saying we’re on the verge of a peace deal, but I am saying that we saw movement, enough movement [from Mr. Putin] to justify a follow-up meeting with Zelenskyy and the Europeans, enough movement for us to dedicate even more time to this,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” of Mr. Trump’s meeting with Mr. Putin on Friday.

Mr. Rubio added that if peace is not possible, the U.S. could impose secondary sanctions on Russia. He added that the president won’t do that right now because it would signal the end of peace talks, and Mr. Trump has invested much of his time and energy in reaching a deal.

“We want to wind up with a peace deal that ends this war so Ukraine can go on with the rest of their lives and rebuild their country and be assured that this is never going to happen again,” Mr. Rubio said. “We’re going to do everything possible to make that happen if it’s doable. It will require both sides to make concessions. It will require both sides to get things they’re asking for. That’s how these deals are made, whether we like it or not.”

Mr. Trump has done more to broker worldwide peace in his eight months in office than President Biden did in his four years. It’s now up to Mr. Zelenskyy to decide whether peace is possible.