Trump is reported to have asked Russian President Putin to meet him as soon as possible, while there is increasing talk of an end to the conflict even if it is not clear on what basis. The analysis for Radio Svoboda by Vitalij Portnikov, one of the most important Ukrainian commentators: the important thing is that the West does not allow Moscow to ‘politically swallow’ Kiev anyway.

At the end-of-year press conference, Putin wanted to show the face of a winner, not only because of the additional bits of territory conquered in the Donbass, but also to convey the sense of Russia's superiority against the many uncertainties of the West. The war itself has "sovereignty" as its main purpose, not so much to defend the country’s borders as to assert its independence and greatness in front of the whole world.

Even mayonnaise at the holidays this year will be 13.5 per cent more expensive, while the real savings of citizens are shrinking despite growth figures inflated by warlike industrial production. China takes note of the liberation of large market spaces and tries to occupy them while avoiding risks as much as possible.

Ever since the first mobilisation for the war, the Association of Russian Doctors and Gynaecologists had reported that the demand for the procedure of preserving one's own genetic material had greatly increased. Proekt Veter has collected the stories of the wives of soldiers killed at the front who nonetheless became pregnant with IVF after their death.

Clean' energy in Russia remains just over 30%, and entire sectors such as automotive and heating still run exclusively on fossil fuels. Mind you, with the invasion of Ukraine, hopes of seeing Moscow as a major contributor to the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism have faded.

Proposals and ideas about ending the war are multiplying, but for Putin, any negotiations with Trump would only be an intermediate stage in an ongoing process. For Ukraine the situation is becoming increasingly grim, not only due to the uncertainties of Western aid but also to the decreasing participation of Ukrainians in the war effort.