Bonus: Is There an Endgame in Ukraine?

Bonus: Is There an Endgame in Ukraine?

From The Foreign Affairs Interview by Foreign Affairs Magazine

February 21, 2026 · 1h 1m

About this episode

Michael Kofman discusses the ongoing war in Ukraine and its implications as it enters its fifth year.

February 24 marks the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. After Moscow’s initial onslaught, Ukrainian counteroffensives, and slow Russian gains since, the war has settled into a brutal pattern of attrition, adaptation, and endurance. Ukrainian cities are rationing electricity, as the Ukrainian military struggles to muster the manpower and munitions needed to gain a decisive edge. Meanwhile, the battlefield has become a hellscape of drones and artillery fire—with no clear breakthrough for either side in sight. Michael Kofman has been one of the sharpest observers and analysts of the changing nature of the war, from Russia’s troop buildup in late 2021 to the present, in the pages of Foreign Affairs and elsewhere. He has also considered the geopolitical implications of each new phase of fighting—what the continued threat of a belligerent Russia means for the West, and how Ukraine’s allies can prepare it for sustained conflict. Now, as the war enters its fifth year, Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, argues that “Russia retains battlefield advantages, but they have not proved decisive, and more and more, time is…

People in this episode

Host: Dan Kurtz-Phelan

Guest: Michael Kofman

Topics covered

  • Ukraine conflict
  • Russia
  • geopolitics
  • military strategy
  • war analysis

Keywords

  • Ukraine
  • Russia
  • war
  • military
  • geopolitics
  • Kofman
  • conflict
  • attrition

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Places: Ukraine, Russia

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