Why it’s getting harder to end wars

NEARLY 2.5 lakh people were killed in armed conflicts in 2025. The Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 65 armed conflicts involving states, the highest number since the Second World War. More than four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war in Ukraine grinds on without a political settlement. In Gaza, three years of fighting have left over 73,000 dead. A ceasefire has not resolved the underlying political and security questions, and violence continues. The war launched by the US and Israel on Iran has passed the six-month mark and spread across the region.