Four years into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has signaled the war will continue until it meets Russia's objectives.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the West to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
And he called on President Donald Trump to reaffirm U.S. support.
Speaking from Kyiv on Newsmax's "National Report," Newsmax Foreign Correspondent Shelby Wilder said Putin's invasion, initially framed by Moscow as a short operation, has stretched on at a steep cost.
"Vladimir Putin's so-called special military operation in Ukraine was meant to last three days," Wilder reported. "But now, four years later, it has come at an enormous cost and delivered little."
Wilder said Russia has suffered "more than 1.2 million military casualties, killed and wounded during its invasion of Ukraine," while the Kremlin maintains that it will not stop fighting until its goals are achieved.
She added that Moscow also made "more veiled nuclear threats and saber-rattling."
Zelenskyy, Wilder reported, said Putin has failed to accomplish his objectives and Ukraine "continues to hold the line and fight for its freedom."
She said Zelenskyy thanked Ukraine's partners and called for "tougher sanctions and continued weapons deliveries to weaken Russia's war machine."
"He warned that without sustained pressure on the Kremlin, Europe's largest war since World War II will not end because he said that Vladimir Putin still believes he can win and he has not abandoned his imperialist ideological vision of Ukraine, including erasing it as an independent, sovereign nation," Wilder reported.
European leaders arrived in Kyiv on Monday in a show of solidarity, Wilder said, declaring "that Ukraine's fate is their own and that the future of the European continent hangs in the balance."
She reported that new European aid packages were announced but noted there were no new U.S. commitments and "no senior officials from the Trump administration are present in Ukraine for this grim milestone."
Against that backdrop, Wilder said Zelenskyy is looking to Trump's State of the Union address for a renewed show of support.
"Zelenskyy said he hopes Trump will reaffirm support for Ukraine in tonight's State of the Union address, urging President Trump, in Zelenskyy's words, to stay on our side," Wilder reported.
Wilder added that U.S. backing has sharply declined: "U.S. support dropped by 99% in 2025, leaving Europe to carry the burden of the war at least much of it."
She said Zelenskyy acknowledged Ukrainians are exhausted by the conflict, but rejected the idea of accepting Putin's demands.
Wilder reported there is still no date for the next round of U.S.-brokered peace talks, as Ukraine continues to press the Trump administration to push for an end to the war.
"There is still no date set for the next round of U.S.-brokered peace talks, but Ukraine continues to urge President Donald Trump to act to help end the bloodshed once and for all," Wilder said.
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