NEW YORK, January 29. /TASS/. The Wall Street Journal has outlined three possible scenarios of how the situation in Ukraine could unfold in 2026.
The most likely scenario is another year of warfare, "while talks go round in circles," the newspaper points out. According to the Wall Street Journal, even though the recent consultations in Abu Dhabi were constructive, fundamental differences between the parties are still there as Kiev insists on security guarantees involving the deployment of Western troops to Ukraine, which is unacceptable for Russia.
The second option is that Ukraine’s "military eventually becomes exhausted" due to a lack of troops and Russia’s superiority in drone technology. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Ukrainian armed forces "have been fighting without rest for years, and unenthusiastic new draftees are increasingly going AWOL." In such a case, Kiev may have to accept a tougher agreement, "meeting Moscow’s demands on territory, limits on Ukraine’s military <...>, with only weak US security guarantees."
The third option involves increasing economic and military pressure on Russia.
The Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi hosted Russia-US-Ukraine talks on January 23-24. Moscow’s delegation was led by Igor Kostyukov, chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, while the Ukrainian delegation was headed by Rustem Umerov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on January 28 that the plan was to continue the Abu Dhabi consultations on February 1.