Global & US Headlines
Zelensky Warns of Russian Plans for a “Year of War” in 2026, Presses EU-US for Harder Action
On 17-18 Dec 2025, President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly told allies that new Russian military orders indicate the Kremlin intends to fight through 2026, and he demanded tougher security, financial, and political measures ahead of an EU summit and ongoing U.S. talks.
Focusing Facts
- In a televised address on 17 Dec 2025, Zelensky said Moscow’s directives show it is “preparing to make next year a year of war,” explicitly urging the United States to abandon assumptions that Russia seeks peace.
- Two days later, on 19 Dec 2025, Vladimir Putin’s 4½-hour annual news conference reiterated that Russia will press on until its war aims are met, claiming forces are “advancing along the entire line of contact.”
- EU leaders convene in Brussels on 18-19 Dec 2025 to decide whether to unlock ~€80 billion in new Ukraine financing and potential use of frozen Russian assets.
Context
Great-power wars often pivot on whether outside patrons believe escalation is inevitable: in July 1914 Serbia counted on Russian backing, while the 1938 Sudeten crisis hinged on Allied reluctance to deter Hitler. Zelensky’s warning tries the same gambit—force partners to acknowledge deterrence failure before it is too late. The episode highlights two longer arcs: Russia’s post-1991 quest to reclaim perceived ‘historic lands,’ and Europe’s uneven march toward strategic autonomy as U.S. commitments wobble. If the EU supplies sustained money and air-defence shields, the conflict could resemble the Iran-Iraq slog of the 1980s—long, brutal, but contained; if not, a 1939-style cascade of territorial revisionism becomes likelier. On a 100-year horizon, the moment matters less for any single battlefield gain than for whether mid-21st-century Europe chooses collective security independent of Washington, or concedes a sphere of influence to Moscow.
Perspectives
Ukrainian officials and supportive international outlets
e.g., Ukrinform, Republic World — They frame Moscow’s talk of making 2026 a “year of war” as proof that Russia intends to escalate, so Western governments must speed up weapons, financial aid and sanctions to protect Ukraine and deter wider aggression. By stressing worst-case scenarios and portraying all diplomacy as a Russian ruse, they strengthen their appeal for external funding and may under-report Kyiv’s own battlefield or political difficulties.
Populist U.S. right-wing media
e.g., InfoWars — They depict Volodymyr Zelensky as an authoritarian who is needlessly dragging the United States and Europe into an endless war he could end by signing a peace deal, while demanding more foreign cash. Loaded language (“Dictator,” references to his religion) and dismissal of Russia’s aggression suggest an ideological motive to discredit U.S. aid to Ukraine rather than a fact-based assessment of the conflict.
Outlets amplifying Kremlin talking points or Putin’s messaging
e.g., Hurriyet Daily News, The National Interest — They highlight Putin’s assertion that Russia is advancing, is ready for peace if its terms are met, and will press on until its objectives are achieved, implying the West and Kyiv now bear responsibility for prolonging the war. By relaying Putin’s statements with minimal scrutiny, these reports risk normalising Russian territorial demands and understating the human and strategic costs Russia faces.