Alert readers will recall that about a month ago, a few days after the Russians invaded Ukraine, I predicted (and placed a $50 wager with a willing Commenter) [here] that the war would be over and the Russians on their way out of Ukraine by the first of April.
Obviously, I’ve lost my bet. Russian forces are still in Ukraine, and the war rages on.
I was optimistic last week, with the news that the Russians were pulling their forces from western Ukraine and the area around Kyiv, that the two sides appeared to be close to a negotiated settlement, and that Putin announced that he would be willing to meet with Zelensky once the terms of a completed draft agreement had been settled on. Unfortunately, those hopeful signs have not borne fruit – though I am still optimistic, or at least hopeful, that while my timing may have been off the ultimate outcome will nonetheless be as predicted, and that the end will come sooner rather than later.
