Welcome to the final edition of My Take 5 in the year 2025. As the year closes – and everyone heads off to their New Year’s eve plans – here’s a quick synopsis of the three key trends going into 2026:
Russia-Ukraine war: Despite some optimism from the latest meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy in Florida, the Russia-Ukraine war is no closer to ending soon. Aside from the fact that some issues remain unresolved, even between US and Ukraine, Russia simply is in no mood to end the war. This was amply demonstrated when just after the Trump-Zelenskyy meet, Russia claimed that Ukraine had fired 91-long-range drones at one of Putin’s official residences. However, when asked for proof, Moscow flatly refused to provide any. Ukraine, on its part, denies that it had targeted Putin’s residence and is blaming Moscow for deliberately lying to throw a spanner into the ongoing negotiations to end the war. Moscow, on the other hand, has said that the purported targeting of Putin’s residence compels it to harden its negotiating position.
Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author’s own.
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