Less talk, more firepower

Ukrainian soldiers manning an air defence vehicle tasked with intercepting Russian drones in the Donbas region of Ukraine. — Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

FOR months, Kyiv slogged through peace talks with Moscow that few in Ukraine ever believed would work.

Still, eager to accommodate US President Donald Trump’s push for a diplomatic solution, Ukrainian diplomats dutifully sat through round after round of meetings with their American and Russian counterparts – despite the talks producing little more than photo ops.