It was an unexpected assessment from Russian President Vladimir Putin after a noticeably smaller-scale Victory Day than usual. “I think that the matter is coming to an end,” Putin told reporters of his yearslong Ukraine war, now essentially at a stalemate. The line landed as a temporary U.S.-brokered ceasefire was near expiry, with Moscow and Kyiv accusing each other of breaching a 72-hour pause and American and European officials weighing further talks. But the combatants remain far apart on