Just before midnight on New Year’s Eve, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told his people, "I would give anything in the world if, in this address, I could say that peace will also come in just a few minutes." Sadly, he added, "Unfortunately, I cannot say that yet." Zelenskyy said a peace deal is "90% ready," but "Those 10% contain, in fact, everything." This challenges former US President Donald Trump's repeated claims that peace was near. Trump had promised to end Russia's war on Ukraine within 24 hours when he took office almost a year ago, but that never happened. In 2025, US diplomacy increased with leaked peace plans from Russia and the US suggesting Ukraine give up the Donbas region. Ukrainian and NATO officials strongly opposed this, calling it a bad deal. Now, Ukraine and the US are working on a new plan. But peace still seems far off. Russia says it will only agree to terms that address the "root causes" of the war, and signs show they are not ready to compromise. Ukrainians face a tough winter with power cuts, air raids, and separated families. Many are tired after nearly four years of fighting. Ukrainian soldier Serhiy said while he is ready to keep fighting, many of his countrymen "would be ready to go for a bad deal; anything to stop the fighting." Zelenskyy recently appointed military intelligence head Kyrylo Budanov as chief of staff, signaling a possible new approach to security and talks. Meanwhile, Ukraine can’t hold presidential elections due to martial law amid the war, although Trump has called for elections, dubbing Zelenskyy illegitimate. Zelenskyy wants to set legal rules for elections during wartime and seek Western support for safe voting. Former army commander Valerii Zaluzhnyi remains a potential political challenger but is not preparing for a run while the war continues. As the year closed, Russia claimed a massive Ukrainian drone attack on Putin’s residence but provided no proof. Kyiv and the CIA called the claim false. Ukrainian MP Serhiy Rakhmanin said peace might be possible if three factors align: increased European military and financial aid, a stable frontline halting Russian advances, and worsening economic problems in Russia. Until then, the battle for peace drags on.