The Russian Ukrainian War has completely changed the nature of warfare,” wrote Ukraine’s ex-commander in chief Valeriy Zaluzhniy back in April 2025. His sentence distills the shifting dynamics of contemporary conflict,

There were many comparisons made between the Balkan War, which came to an end 30 years after the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords, and the current conflict in Ukraine.

Russia and Ukraine conducted the largest prisoner of war exchange of the war to date on Wednesday, with around 1,000 soldiers from each side swapped.

The Vatican has a deep history of conflict mediation, with varying degrees of success. An effort by the pope to end the war in Ukraine would face long odds.

Russian attacks in Ukraine since January 2025 have killed and injured more civilians than in the same period in 2024. Get updates on human rights issues from around the globe. Join our movement today.

With the US having secured its economic interests through the signing of a mineral deal with Ukraine, its stance on the Russia-Ukraine negotiations is more detached, said Zhang. "Washington will no longer play the role of an active mediator but is a conditional participant, leaving Europe to handle the bulk of diplomatic efforts."

Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Vladimir Putin of making a “mockery of the entire world” in its delay to respond to calls for a ceasefire after the first stage of a large-scale prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov cast doubt on Friday over the Vatican as a potential location for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, saying that the Holy See itself would find it uncomfortable to host two mainly Orthodox Christian nations.