Exactly three years ago this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his “special military operation” against Ukraine.

Putin claimed the invasion was intended to “denazify” Ukraine and protect its Russian-speaking population. Initially, many expected a quick and overwhelming victory for Russia. But the conflict quickly escalated into a prolonged, brutal and devastating war that has reshaped global geopolitics.

The enormous number of casualties in the war has been difficult to quantify, as both sides tightly control information on their military losses. A Wall Street Journal report from last year placed Ukrainian troop losses at 80,000 killed and 400,000 wounded. The United Nations reports that over 12,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children have been put in Russian camps in an effort to reeducate them and make them loyal to Putin.

Yet Russia has suffered far more losses, with various sources placing the number of killed or severely wounded soldiers at more than 800,000. Last week, United States President Donald Trump estimated this number at 1.5 million.

Whatever the actual number, it has been the deadliest conflict for Russia since World War ii.

Trump believes the Russians want to see the war end and hopes to negotiate a peace deal with Putin. Trump even campaigned with the promise that he would end the war in 24 hours. But does he really know the man he is dealing with? Could such a deal really end the war?

Putin’s Persistence

In the first year of the war, Russia made some notable gains in territory but was met with unexpectedly impressive counteroffensives from Ukraine. Russia suffered devastating losses in ammunition and manpower against a Ukraine empowered by Western support. Yet Putin persisted.

In 2023, Russia continued sending more troops and ammunition into the war but made only negligible gains at a catastrophic cost. The war almost came to a stalemate that winter, until Russia finally captured the key city Bakhmut with the help of mercenaries from the paramilitary Wagner group.

A month later, however, Putin faced another setback as Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner group, led a mutiny and marched with thousands of mercenaries toward Moscow to confront the government. Kremlin watchers said Putin’s days were numbered. But the mutiny was short-lived—Prigozhin suddenly ordered his soldiers to stand down. He was killed two months later in a suspicious plane crash. Putin persisted with his war effort yet again.

Another setback occurred in August of last year when Ukrainian forces humiliated Russia as they advanced some 10 miles into the Kursk region of western Russia. But Russia has since regained over half of that territory, and fighting continues in the area.

Today, Russia controls about 20 percent of Ukraine and is inching westward toward the city of Povrovsk.

Overall, Putin has been far less successful than expected. In three years, he has faced many setbacks and tremendous losses in manpower and ammunition for only minor territorial gains. If he wanted a ceasefire, he could have already negotiated one. If he wanted to give up the war effort, he had plenty of reasons to do so a long time ago.

Yet for three years, Putin has remained fiercely determined to conquer Ukraine. And as the Trumpet has warned, even if Putin loses the war in the short term, the sure word of Bible prophecy reveals he will survive and fight much larger wars in the future. All indications are that, if President Trump manages to negotiate a peace deal, Ukraine will be forced to concede the most. Trump said Russia “holds the cards” in the peace talks. And the way he approached Israel’s shameful hostage deal with Hamas indicates how much ground he is willing to give up to accommodate evil in order to burnish his reputation as a peacemaker. The fact that Europe and Ukraine were left out of the peace negotiations in Saudi Arabia last week underscores the likelihood of a deal favorable for Russia and very unfavorable for Europe.

Europe vs. Trump

Russia’s attack on Ukraine generated real fear in Europe. European leaders have taken it as motivation to militarize and brace themselves to defend against a potential attack from Russia.

During the Biden administration, however, the Continent relied heavily on the U.S. for support within nato. Both sides sent billions of dollars in aid and weapons to Ukraine in an effort to keep Russia at bay.

Under President Trump, everything has changed. Trump is unhappy about the hundreds of billions the U.S. has sent to Ukraine, and he criticizes Europe for carrying a much smaller burden. He has ridiculed the pace at which Europe is militarizing and told European nato members repeatedly that they should spend at least 5 percent of their gross domestic product on defense, more than double the previous 2 percent target. He has even said he would encourage Russia to attack any nato member that doesn’t hit its defense spending target.

This developing rift between Europe and the U.S. became even clearer during Vice President JD Vance’s speech on February 14. Vance criticized the Continent for rejecting democracy, attacking free speech, and lacking strong leadership. Europe’s leaders were offended, frustrated and angered. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius called it “unacceptable.” “The trans-Atlantic alliance is over,” a senior European Union diplomat said.

Europe must do the “unthinkable” and “announce its willingness to quit nato,” Foreign Policy wrote a few days later. “A Europe that is forced to spend 5 percent on defense is a Europe that doesn’t need the United States.”

The emerging consensus is that Europe must fend for itself. To do so, it needs stronger leadership and a stronger and more unified military that does not rely on the U.S. (To learn where this will lead, read Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry’s article “JD Vance Exposes Europe’s Break From America.”)

This is exactly what Bible prophecy forecasts will happen, and a lot of it has been caused by the Russo-Ukrainian War. Prophecies in Daniel 2 and Revelation 17 show that a unified, militaristic European superpower is about to emerge consisting of 10 nations or groups of nations, referred to in the Bible as “kings” (Revelation 17:12). If the U.S. and Europe break their nato alliance, this could happen quickly.

We don’t know exactly how it will play out, but Bible prophecy clearly reveals the end result for the powers involved.

What’s Next for Putin?

Analysts say Putin is willing to play the long game in negotiations with the U.S. until he secures the deal on his terms. Three years of determined fighting testify to this.

Using Putin’s stated position as a guide, he will only agree to a ceasefire if the West withdraws its support from Ukraine, limits are imposed on how Kyiv can defend itself, and Russia gets large chunks of Ukrainian territory.

Such a deal would be a massive victory for Putin and a terrible loss for the EU. It would also show tremendous weakness from America. It may end the war temporarily but at the cost of intensifying the likelihood of future conflict.

Putin’s ambitions are clear and will not change. Mr. Flurry has long warned of Putin’s goals and his true character in his booklet The Prophesied ‘Prince of Russia.’ He writes:

… Putin has a long pattern of diabolical evil on the level of Joseph Stalin. An abundance of fruits prove that. …

Putin has long known that if Ukraine allied with Europe, it would significantly diminish his power. His goal is to resurrect the Soviet empire. The architecture of that empire was built around Ukraine being a part of it. [T]hat nation is the linchpin of his goal of a renewed imperial Russia!

Mr. Flurry goes on to identify the “prince of Rosh” or “prince of Russia” in Ezekiel 38:2 as Vladimir Putin. He writes, “Vladimir Putin is one we need to keep a particularly close eye on. His track record, his nationality and his ideology show that he is fulfilling a linchpin Bible prophecy. The time frame of his rule also shows that nobody else could be fulfilling the Ezekiel 38 and 39 prophecy.”

Because of the evils the prince of Russia will commit as prophesied in the book of Ezekiel, Mr. Flurry strongly warned against Trump trying to make a deal with him in the May-June 2023 issue of the Trumpet. He wrote this nearly two years ago, but it is strikingly applicable to today:

Mr. Trump believes he could negotiate with Vladimir Putin, giving him sections of Ukraine and expecting this to pacify him. That reveals a total lack of comprehension about who he is dealing with.

President Trump said that Putin is a man that he “got along really well with.” Is that true? Is that wise? Should anyone get along with an evil man like the prince of Russia?

Can God get along with the devil?

Even if the Ukraine war is temporarily resolved, Bible prophecy shows that the world will eventually deal with much larger issues caused by the prince of Russia and his allies.

Ezekiel 38:2-5 give names that apply to modern China and India. Verse 6 mentions Gomer, the primary ancestor of several Asian peoples, including the Koreans. These nations will ally with Russia under the leadership of Putin. Revelation 16:12 calls this alliance of Asian nations “the kings of the east.”

Revelation 9:16 gives further insight, saying that “the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand.” That’s 200 million troops. Russia’s population of just over 140 million could never field such a force. This is more evidence that Putin will need populous nations such as China, India and other Asian nations to join his force.

The past three years of war in Ukraine have accelerated the formation of this alliance:

• China has provided millions of dollars of military aid to Russia, including drones, parts of body armor and armored vehicles.
• Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping has had multiple meetings with Putin to reaffirm their “no limits” partnership.
• India and China have helped Russia evade Western sanctions by buying Russian crude oil.
• North Korea has sent millions of artillery shells to Russia since the start of the war.
• North Korea signed a landmark defense pact with Moscow and recently went as far as sending over 10,000 of its own troops to the front lines in Ukraine.

The prophecies in Revelation and Ezekiel, along with other passages, show that these Asian nations will eventually fight in a third world war.

Fortunately, tremendous hope is tied to these prophecies. Toward the end of his booklet, Mr. Flurry writes:

[T]he Bible also prophesies that at the end of all of these wars, the world is going to see the greatest event ever in the universe: the Second Coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ! …

Vladimir Putin is a sign, literally a SIGN that Jesus Christ is about to return! This is one of the most inspiring messages in the Bible. What we are seeing in Russia ultimately leads to the transition from man ruling man to God ruling man! And it’s almost here!

Jesus Christ is the only power who will finally shut down the prince of Russia. That’s the power that all mankind will soon submit to. Amid all the wars and suffering, that is the most hopeful news we could hear.

To learn more about the prophecies surrounding the Russo-Ukrainian War, read “The Ukraine War Will Not Start World War III!”