February 24, 2026, marked the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian forces have made only slow, costly gains, advancing roughly 50 kilometers into eastern Ukraine over two years with an estimated 1.2 million military casualties.

U.S.-mediated peace efforts have stalled over deeply conflicting demands, with Putin insisting Ukraine withdraw from contested eastern regions and abandon NATO aspirations, while Zelenskyy seeks a ceasefire along the current front line with security guarantees.

The war likely won't end anytime soon, Brian Taylor, professor of political science, tells Fox4 News. “The simple reason is [Russian President] Vladimir Putin is not interested in a deal, he wants to control Ukraine and Ukraine wants to remain free and independent and sovereign. And there's no real overlap between those two positions at this point,” Taylor says.

On the LAist's “AirTalk” podcast (at 27:00), Taylor says, “I don't think we're really much closer to a potential ceasefire let alone a more lasting peace deal, despite all of the negotiations that have gone on over the last year.”

“For Putin, the goal here is to have some kind of political control over Ukraine and tie Ukraine's future to Russia's future. So it's not just about territory, it's also about Ukrainian domestic politics. And I think Putin sees an exit to the war as one in which Zelenskyy is gone, there's a more pro-Russian government in power in Kyiv, and Ukraine is distanced from NATO and EU and the West,” says Taylor. “For understandable reasons, the Ukrainians don't seem to be in a hurry to sign on to that.”

Taylor also spoke with WWL First News with Tommy Tucker and iHeart Radio's “Dave Allen Podcast.”