Ukraine–Russia War: A 2025 Assessment

After a summer of costly Russian pressure and strained Ukrainian defense, the war now feels less like a contest of maneuver than a slow, punishing struggle in which every kilometer is bought with blood and neither side can yet break the other.

Putin’s Lies Have a Shelf Life

From the shattered bridges outside Kyiv to the hollow eyes of Russian officers who once confessed that their whole lives had been a lie, I have watched the same rotten empire of untruth stagger forward, and I am convinced that Ukraine’s refusal to bow will help bring it crashing down.

Ukraine, Trump, and the Rewritten Peace Blueprint Taking Shape

Ukraine is working from a rewritten American peace blueprint that trims the harshest demands from the original plan, but whether this marks the start of a real endgame or another turn in a grinding war will be decided in the fine print and on the battlefield.

Evening Brief: Israel Takes out Hezbollah Leader in Lebanon, Trump Calls Ukraine Ungrateful Again, Royal Navy Intercepts Russian Ships in English Channel

On a weekend when Israel took out Hezbollah’s military brain in Beirut, Trump hammered Kyiv as “ungrateful” while peace negotiators in Geneva pushed a bruising plan on Ukraine, and HMS Severn slid up alongside Russian warships in the English Channel, you could feel the whole security picture from the Levant to the North Atlantic tightening like a ratchet. It’s Sunday November 23rd, 2025. Here is your SOFREP Evening Brief.