# Russia - Ukraine: end of war predictions **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** ukraine-invasion\ **Created:** [May 11, 2026, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-ukraine-end-of-war-predictions/1030002 "2026-05-11T16:30:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 19
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-ukraine-end-of-war-predictions/1030002/19 "2026-05-12T03:27:52Z")
The Guardian has [an article](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/11/why-is-putin-now-talking-about-the-war-in-ukraine-coming-to-an-end) on reasons why Russia might seek an end to the war. Most of the reasons are covered in @Cardigan 's OP, but there is another one that keeps cropping up: Ukraine has become a missile and drone superpower. They’ve been outsourcing their tech to the Middle East. Russia has a huge shortage of labor (due to conscripts and emigrees) that it is marking bad inflation worse. And there are more reports of Russians speaking out against the war. It could be that Russia feels the tide is turning and sues for peace this year. There were [reports last week](https://kyivindependent.com/could-europe-take-over-ukraine-peace-talks-from-us/) that some EU countries are getting tired of the US’s progress on peace talks and are considering initiating their own. The rumors got shot down quickly; presumably that is a ways off. * * * FWIW, here is the old thread on Russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine: > [@Russian Use of Nuclear Weapons and Response rgd Ukraine](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-use-of-nuclear-weapons-and-response-rgd-ukraine/972339): > > Note to all - I’m putting this here as it’s inherently subjective (at this time) and not quite a fit for P&E. I also noted and thought about bumping “[Imagine you are president and Putin nukes Kyiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imagine-you-are-president-and-putin-nukes-kyiv/961809)” that @Hari_Seldon started, but find the situation is quite different 6 months down the line. Specifically two recent articles made me re-examine my prior skepticism on if even Putin would use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine theater. For the record, I still lean towards unlikely, but I’m far from my … --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-ukraine-end-of-war-predictions/1030002)._