The year 2025 sees a sharp increase in global conflicts. From another war in the Middle East to unprecedented tensions in Asia between India and Pakistan and then Thailand and Cambodia, this year has definitely been one for the history books.
However, between brief conflicts and near wars, the two conflicts continue, bringing more and more devastation.
The Israel-Hamas or Gaza war has devastated the Palestinian territory. With the death toll surpassing 70,000 and a UN-declared famine across northern Gaza, a ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump may bring a much-needed pause in the war, but Israeli attacks continue to attack Gaza across the ‘Yellow Line’.
Meanwhile, in Europe, Russia and Ukraine continue to attack each other and a peace deal shows no signs of coming to fruition. After his failed summit with the Russian President Vladimir PutinTrump sent envoys to peace talks between Moscow and Kiev.
While the US President says a ceasefire is “closer than ever”, Moscow and Kiev continue trading blows as the war enters its fourth year in 2025.
As the year ends, attacks continue in Ukraine, Russia, and the State of Palestine.
How did 2025 go for Gaza and Ukraine?
Gaza war – another year of ‘genocide’
Israel’s war on Gaza declared genocide by international bodies, but Tel Aviv refuses to acknowledge the destruction since October 7, 2023, as part of its response to a Hamas terrorist attack in southern Israel.
Along with declaring the Israeli attacks as genocide, the United Nations has issued a statement announcing this. Famine in the north of Gaza and called on Israel to allow the movement of aid. The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) states that Israel’s blockade of aid was a major factor contributing to the famine situation.
Israel continues to deny this allegation and the fact that Gaza has become hungry due to the Israeli attack.
Israel’s war intensified after major Western countries like France, Canada and Australia announced their recognition of it Statehood for PalestineFrench President following the footsteps of Norway, Spain and Ireland Emmanuel Macron Preparing the ball for major Western powers to show public support for Gaza.
At the UN General Assembly in September, 11 countries joined more than 150 in recognizing the State of Palestine, a move sharply condemned by Tel Aviv and its closest ally, the United States.
Additionally, the Gaza War also became the deadliest for media workers. more than 300 journalists Have been killed in Israeli strikes and airstrikes since October 2023. The death toll in Gaza reached 67,000 by October 2025.
As the war entered its third year, a US-brokered ceasefire went into effect. based on donald trumpFollowing the 20-point peace plan, a ceasefire was implemented and Israeli withdrawal began.
The plan called for Israeli troops to retreat until ‘yellow line’However, for many Palestinians, the withdrawal of Israeli troops has not translated into peace and destruction continues in the Gaza Strip,
Along the Yellow Line in the ceasefire agreement, Israeli troops continue to remain inside Gaza, allowing Israel to continue its assaults and offensives in the area.
By November 2025, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said more than 70,000 Palestinians had been killed, including women and children. However, experts suggest that the death toll may be much higher than reported due to thousands of missing bodies.
Ukraine War – Europe’s deadliest war since World War II
the year has begun Russia And ukraine A series of drone and air strikes were exchanged. As the war progressed, the rest of Europe grew increasingly concerned about a massive Russian attack and invasion of the continent.
As the shootout between Russia and Ukraine continues, the United States got its next President, Donald Trump, who claims the Ukraine war would never have started if he were re-elected in 2020.
Starting his path to “peace”, Trump reached out to Putin and Russia to put an agreement on the table, opening negotiations between Kiev and Moscow.
Along with this, talks took place between the two leaders amid tension between Trump and Zelensky. Heated clash in Oval Office By the end of February. In the meeting, which was broadcast live around the world, Trump and US Vice President JD Vance accused Zelensky of not being “grateful” to the US for help and assistance in the war.
The meeting, which also brought the Ukrainian President’s visit to Washington to an abrupt end.
Despite a ‘fall in diplomacy’, as some Russian media called it, Trump continued to work towards a peace agreement. Meanwhile, more firing took place between Ukraine and Russia, resulting in the worst attacks in four years of fighting.
April 2025 saw the deadliest strike in Ukraine. A church in Sumy was attacked mid-service by Russian missiles and drones, killing 34.
In June 2025, Ukraine conducted its first and largest covert drone operation in Russia, shifting the focus of power back to Kiev. operation spiderweb It was carried out deep inside Russia by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
Five airports – Belaya, Diaghilev, Ivanovo Severny, Olenya and Ukrainka – were targeted in the attack using drones hidden in trucks inside Russian territory.
Hours after the attack, Zelensky confirmed the operation and shared that it took the SBU 18 months and nine days to plan and execute the covert drone strikes. The attack shocked Russia and the US as Washington claimed it was not informed in advance about the attack.
Following Operation Spiderweb, Ukraine also detonated an explosion near the underwater supports of the Crimean Bridge, a key route for Russian forces during the war. Despite the attack, the bridge remains in service.
A few weeks after the operation, the Dnipro region of Ukraine was attacked by Russia, hitting school buildings and a passenger train. At least 21 people were killed and more than 200 were injured in the attack.
As Ukraine and Russia continued to attack each other through August, Trump holds summit with Putin in Alaska Where he worked to broker an agreement with the Russian President. Moscow made its demands for the region clear to the US, which extended it to Ukraine.
Despite their positive comments about the meeting, Russia and Putin remained uncertain about a possible ceasefire.
Zelensky and Trump were too polite Reunion in the Oval Office, And this time, the Ukrainian President brought with him additional forces – European heads of state and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
A few days after the Alaska summit, Russian drones attacked an apartment building and Sumy State University in Kharkiv.
In the coming days, attacks between Russia and Ukraine will continue to intensify, depleting each country’s resources and economic stability.
While Ukraine is funded by NATO, the US and other European allies, the Russian economy, as experts and Trump claim, is on the verge of collapse.
Sanctions imposed by the US and other Western countries increase this tension.
As aid and more US resources were sent to Ukraine, Trump imposed Sanctions against both Rosneft and LukoilRussia’s two largest oil companies. Due to which the economy is bound to suffer some loss.
Months passed, attacks continued, and then in November, Ukraine saw one of its deadliest attacks. Russian attack on two apartment buildings Ternopil It became the deadliest attack on western Ukraine since the beginning of the war on February 24, 2022, killing at least 38 people.
As the attacks increased, so did the pressure for a peace agreement. Following his “success” in Gaza, Trump deployed his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner to Moscow, Kiev and then Berlin.
Both Witkoff and Kushner met with delegations from Russia and Ukraine as part of Trump’s efforts to broker a peace deal.
While trouble remains over territorial concessions, Donald Trump continues to claim that he “closer than ever“To make a deal.
Currently, Russia has annexed Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, and has partially annexed Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson in Ukraine’s south and east, following a 2022 invasion.
Russia has called on Ukraine to withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk, known as the Donbass region, as part of its effort to end the fighting. However, Kiev has refused to do so.
Despite Trump’s optimism, Putin’s commitment to a ceasefire remains questionable. Furthermore, the alleged drone attack Russian President’s Residence Moscow has had to take a step back to reconsider its stance, continuing Europe’s state of limbo as Europe prepares for another year of its deadliest war since World War II.
