Moscow, according to Kyiv, is menacing NATO ships in the Black Sea

Some analysts and a few bureaucrats still cling to what seems to be almost a warped hope that the conflict lives on.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, met with derision in his attempts to discuss the conflict in separatist-held Donbass with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, has launched new overtures to shore up support in the West in the light of Russia’s buildup of troops and weaponry on his country’s borders.