"War for decades": military experts shared insights with Focus on the outlook for 2025.

Prospects for 2025: How the War on the Front Will Change

Colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Deputy Commander of the 3rd Special Operations Brigade, Maxim Zhorin stated that many factors influence the events, and therefore he tries not to make any predictions. However, in his opinion, the prospects for 2025 are not very optimistic.

The serviceman is most concerned that everyone has already believed in a ceasefire and the end of the war in 2025, but absolutely no one knows this. He noted that intentions, hopes, and expectations are not plans, so Ukrainians should not rely on this.

"A lull in military actions is possible, especially if elections are indeed held in Ukraine, in which our Western partners are interested. But this is a pause, not the end of the war. We will use it for conflicts and even greater fragmentation of society, while the aggressors will use it to strengthen and prepare for the next strike. And it could be even stronger than the previous one," Zhorin added.

"This is the only prospect. Because it is unclear what will happen with U.S. aid, and it is unclear what will happen on the front, as the Russians will continue their attempts to advance," said "Alex".

According to him, in 2025 it is necessary to understand how to be independent and not depend on anyone, and to "gather the framework ourselves." In the serviceman's view, fighting may intensify in the Kramatorsk and Severodonetsk directions.

"As long as the guys hold Kurakhovo and the Kurakhiv direction, the Russians won't push there. But if this pocket closes, they will shift to attacking the Severodonetsk and Kramatorsk directions," the officer summarized.

According to UAF serviceman Anastasia Blishchik, at the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022, she was not as scared as now, at the end of 2024 - beginning of 2025.

She noted that some hope for Trump, believing he will end the war after his inauguration. However, it is unknown under what conditions this would occur.

Commander of the "Achilles" Battalion of the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade named after the Cossack Ataman Ivan Sirko, Yuri Fedorenko stated that Putin has an important enemy, like any dictator—time.

He emphasized that the newly elected U.S. President Trump faces a very difficult choice—on one hand, he needs to devise something to end the war, as it was one of his campaign promises, and on the other, he cannot allow the weakening of U.S. influence on the overall political situation in the world.

The commander noted that the possibility of foreign contingents being present on Ukrainian territory, starting with instructors, is currently under active discussion, which could happen as early as the first quarter of 2025 according to public sources. He is convinced that the West must respond to Russia's presence of soldiers from North Korea participating in battles against Ukraine.

"They (the partners, - ed.) must at least fulfill that part they promised on the second anniversary of the full-scale war—the foreign contingent will be stationed on those segments of the state border with the Russian Federation and countries that may pose a potential threat, like Belarus, where there are no active hostilities. However, they can allow us to free the necessary number of personnel, currently holding positions, and deploy them to those segments that are now extremely difficult," the serviceman explained.

Yuri Fedorenko reminded that Putin aims to destroy Ukrainian statehood, so that Kyiv abandons Eurointegration, intentions to join NATO, that the second language in Ukraine becomes Russian, and that demilitarization and denazification occur.

"What will happen if Putin's demands are satisfied? Real combat actions may be suspended, but within two years, the Russian Federation will completely destroy Ukraine, either through military means or via its agents integrated into the political landscape of Ukraine," he stated, noting that Russia will not make the mistake the Soviet Union did when it left the Ukrainian SSR, thus for the Russians, everything must be part of Russia.

However, such a scenario is unacceptable for both Ukraine and its partners.

Until mid-March 2025, a high pace of combat operations will be maintained, said Fedorenko. In particular, because Putin is currently trying to "bite off as much as possible" before Trump makes final strategic decisions regarding the end of the war in Ukraine. He is convinced that the Russian leader understands that Trump has no other choice but to support Kyiv.

After this, there will be a certain reduction in dynamics for preparation and reinforcement of forces, and then, according to Fedorenko, there will again be an intense wave of combat actions. However, if all the tools work and it is possible to economically pressure Russia, Ukraine will be able to ensure itself and influence the enemy on the battlefield with its own troops and foreign contingents, then Russia will be in a weak position and will be forced to sign certain peace agreements that will be beneficial for Ukraine.

How to Accelerate Ukraine's Victory in the War?

"What should Ukraine do to accelerate victory? To ensure that those involved in corruption go to prison, that no one can escape, that there is fair mobilization, that there is a motivational aspect to join the army, namely that demobilization is enshrined in law as promised, that politicians do not deceive, that there is a government of national unity, that Ukraine is as it was after February 24, 2022, for about three months," Igor Lapin explained.

When asked how the war in Ukraine will end—on the battlefield or through diplomatic means, he replied that even "Nazi Germany signed a capitulation agreement" at the negotiating table, not on the battlefield.

"All wars end with something being signed at the table. But I highly doubt that will happen; Ukraine will end the war on the battlefield or through some other means. Peace for Ukraine means the absence of a threat from Russia," he clarified.

According to Lapin, the absence of a threat from the Russian Federation could result from the collapse of Russia itself, in which case there would be nothing to sign, or from Ukraine joining NATO. In the latter case, theoretically something would need to be signed, but not with the Russians. However, Trump stated that in the coming years, Kyiv should not approach this topic, so Ukrainians will not sign anything.

"If we do not sign anything, how will we end the war? This war will last many, many decades... We are already starting to get used to living in a state of war. Like Israel, for example, has lived in a state of war for 40 years. Here is the question of the end of the war as such and the life of Ukraine in the process," he added.

Meanwhile, Arseniy Prilipka believes that to accelerate victory, Ukraine needs more weapons, people, and to not stop. Prilipka pointed out that the format of ending the war will depend on the situation on the battlefield.

Serviceman Blishchik noted that to speed up victory, it is necessary to understand that Ukraine cannot fight with people as Russia does.

"We do not have such a huge population, that is the first point. Secondly, we have no right to throw our soldiers into the meat grinder. The war must change, becoming more robotic, so that soldiers do not have to go out and mine anything, because this is not the nature of the current war, but rather to maximize remote mining. We need to fight with robots, expand this, and establish state production to make it mass-produced, because we must preserve our people," she reported.

Blishchik stated that everything should work to support each soldier, and it is essential to produce high-quality munitions as much as possible. She expressed that she sees that Russia wants to win, as it is mass-producing munitions and has rockets and equipment. The enemy constantly finds reserves, brings them in, and continues to try to advance.

"Does Ukraine want to win? I don't know; every serviceman currently on the front line is doing everything within our power, but the rear must also work. We have enormous problems with the rear; people cannot simply hold such a powerful defense line when the Russians are just erasing everything with KABs and artillery, when they surpass us across the entire front line even in FPV drones," she noted.

In Ukraine, there is enormous corruption, according to Anastasia Blishchik, and strict control is needed; the country must start working for the military. She is convinced that labor mobilization should also be implemented.

"If this does not happen, it will be a defeat. We must be prepared for the possibility of troop withdrawals because at some point, we simply will not be able to hold on," she added.

Fedorenko noted that various specialists assess Russia's capacity to maintain an intensive pace of combat operations over a year and a half, while some estimate it at two to five years. However, this is based on the current situation; if pressure on the enemy is increased, this period could be significantly reduced, he believes