The wrong way to end a war

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on The Economist or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: As Vladimir Putin pushes for a ceasefire in Ukraine on terms favourable to Russia, historical parallels are being drawn with authoritarian "peace" strategies from past conflicts
• A new analysis highlights how tyrants, like Mao Zedong during the Korean War, have previously used prolonged warfare and calculated attrition to force opponents into unfavourable settlements — underscoring the risks of misreading autocratic approaches to conflict resolution.

🔭 The context: During the Korean War, Mao explicitly sought to exhaust American and allied forces through sheer sacrifice, ultimately accepting massive casualties to secure a negotiated stalemate
• That strategy shaped decades of Cold War geopolitics and serves as a cautionary tale
• Today, Putin appears to be following a similar script: presenting peace overtures while continuing aggression, aiming to freeze conflict lines and solidify territorial gains without accountability

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Prolonged wars have significant humanitarian, environmental, and geopolitical costs
• In Ukraine, ongoing conflict disrupts energy markets, agricultural exports, and the broader European decarbonisation agenda
• Accepting a peace built on coercion may embolden further militarised land grabs and set back global governance on conflict resolution, sovereignty, and post-war reconstruction frameworks

⏭️ What's next: Western governments face increasing pressure to balance support for Ukraine with calls for diplomacy
• The risk is that premature negotiations on Moscow’s terms could entrench impunity and undermine international law
• Decisions in the coming months — especially with U.S. and European elections approaching — will shape not just Ukraine’s future, but broader norms around peace and accountability

💬 One quote: “Ending a war is not always peace — it can also be the beginning of a long injustice.” — Sergey Radchenko, Professor of International Relations, Johns Hopkins SAIS

📈 One stat: 400,000 — Estimated Chinese military deaths in the Korean War, according to internal assessments, far above the 150,000 officially acknowledged today

Explore carbon credit purchases, total emissions, and climate targets of thousands of companies on Data Hub™ — the first platform designed to help sustainability providers generate sales leads!

Click for more news covering the latest on social responsibility