A ceasefire that isn’t and a truce awaited: The Gaza and Ukraine wars in 2025 | In pics
2025 may have ended but the attacks in Russia-Ukraine and the State of Palestine continue.
The year 2025 saw a sharp rise 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 certainly been one for the history books.
However, amid the brief conflicts and almost-wars, two conflicts continue to rage on, bringing more and more devastation.
The Israel-Hamas, or the Gaza war, has left the Palestinian territory in ruins. With a death toll crossing 70,000 and a UN-declared famine across North Gaza, the war may have seen a much-needed pause due to the ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump, but Israeli attacks continue to hit Gaza through the 'Yellow Line'
Meanwhile, in Europe, Russia and Ukraine continue to attack one another with no signs of a peace deal coming to fruition. After his unsuccessful summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump sent his envoys for peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.
While the US president says a ceasefire is "closer than ever before," Moscow and Kyiv continue to trade attacks as the war entered its fourth year in 2025.
As the year comes to an end, attacks in Ukraine, Russia, and the State of Palestine continue.
How 2025 went for Gaza and Ukraine
Gaza war - Another year of ‘genocide’
Israel's war on Gaza was declared a genocide by international bodies, but Tel Aviv refused to acknowledge the destruction it caused since October 7, 2023, as part of their response to the Hamas terror attack in Southern Israel.
Along with Israeli attacks being designated as a genocide, the United Nations issued a statement declaring a famine in the north of Gaza and calling on Israel to allow the movement of aid. The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) stated that Israel's blockade of aid was a major factor contributing to the setting in of famine.
Israel continues to deny this allegation and the fact that Gaza has been starved due to the Israeli onslaught.
Israel's war intensified after leading Western countries such as France, Canada and Australia announced their recognition of Statehood for Palestine. Following in the footsteps of Norway, Spain and Ireland, French President Emmanuel Macron set the ball rolling for leading Western powers to show public support for Gaza.
At the United Nations General Assembly in September, 11 countries joined the 150+ countries to recognise the State of Palestine, drawing sharp condemnation from Tel Aviv and its closest ally, the United States.
Additionally, the Gaza war also became the deadliest for media workers. Over 300 journalists have been killed in Israeli attacks and airstrikes since October 2023. By October 2025, the death toll in Gaza reached 67,000.
As the war entered its third year, the US-brokered ceasefire took effect. Based on Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan, a truce was implemented and Israeli withdrawal began.
The plan called for Israeli troops to withdraw till the 'Yellow Line'. However, for many Palestinians, the withdrawal of Israeli troops has not translated into calm and continues to bring destruction to the Gaza Strip.
With the Yellow Line in the ceasefire pact, Israeli troops continue to stay inside Gaza, allowing Israel to continue its attacks and strikes in the region.
As of November 2025, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry has stated that over 70,000 Palestinians have been killed, which includes women and children. However, experts suggest that the death toll could be much higher than what is reported due to thousands of missing bodies.
Ukraine war - Europe's deadliest since WW2
The year started with Russia and Ukraine exchanging a series of drone and air strikes. As the war escalated, the rest of Europe raised concerns about a wide Russian assault and invasion of the continent.
As Russia and Ukraine continued to trade fire, the United States got its next president, Donald Trump, who claims that the Ukraine war would have never started if he had been re-elected in 2020.
Starting his path to "peace," Trump reached out to Putin and Russia to establish a deal on the table, thereby kicking off negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow.
With this and tensions between Trump and Zelensky, the two leaders exchanged a heated confrontation in the Oval Office by the end of February. In the meeting, which was broadcast live for the world to see, Trump and US Vice President JD Vance accused Zelensky of not being "thankful" to the US for its help and aid in the war.
The meeting, which also brought an abrupt end to the Ukrainian president's visit to Washington.
Despite the 'breakdown in diplomacy', as some Russian media called it, Trump continued to work towards a deal for peace. Meanwhile, Ukraine and Russia exchanged more fire, resulting in some of the worst attacks the war has seen in its four years of fighting.
A strike in April 2025 marked once of the deadliest Ukraine was seen. A church in Sumy was attacked by Russian missiles and drones mid-service, killing 34.
In June 2025, Ukraine carried out its first-ever and largest covert drone operation in Russia, shifting the power focus back to Kyiv. Operation Spiderweb was carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) deep inside Russia.
The attack targeted five air bases - Belaya, Dyagilevo, Ivanovo Severny, Olenya, and Ukrainka - using drones which had been concealed 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 sent Russia and the US into a frenzy as Washington claimed it was not informed beforehand about the attack.
Following Operation Spiderweb, Ukraine also carried out an explosion near the underwater supports of the Crimean Bridge, which was a key route for Russian forces during the war. Despite the attack, the bridge continues to remain in service.
Weeks after the operation, Ukraine’s Dnipro region was struck by Russia, hitting school buildings and a passenger train. The attack killed at least 21 people and wounded over 200.
As Ukraine and Russia continued to strike each other, by August, Trump held a summit with Putin in Alaska, where he worked to strike a deal with the Russian president. Moscow made its demands for territory clear to the US, which relayed the same to Ukraine.
Despite his positive remarks about the meeting, Russia and Putin remained elusive about a possible ceasefire.
Zelensky and Trump also had a much more polite reunion at the Oval Office, and this time, the Ukrainian President brought reinforcements with him - European heads of state and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
Days after the Alaska summit, Russian drones hit an apartment building in Kharkiv and the Sumy State University.
In the coming days, the attacks between Russia and Ukraine would continue to intensify, depleting each nation's resources and economic stability.
While Ukraine stays funded by NATO, the US and other European allies, the Russian economy, as claimed by experts and Trump, remains on the verge of collapse.
Sanctions imposed by the US and other Western nations add to this strain.
As aid and more American resources were sent to Ukraine, Trump imposed sanctions against both Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia's two largest oil companies. which are bound to cause some damage to the economy.
Months passed by, attacks continued, and then in November, Ukraine witnessed one of its deadliest attacks. A Russian strike on two apartment buildings in Ternopil killed at least 38 people, making it the deadliest attack on Western Ukraine since the start of the war on February 24, 2022.
As the attacks escalated, so did the pressure for a peace deal. After his "success" in Gaza, Trump deployed his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner to Moscow, Kyiv and then Berlin.
Both Witkoff and Kushner met with delegations from Russia and Ukraine as part of Trump's effort to strike a peace deal.
While trouble remains over the territorial concessions, Donald Trump continues to claim they are "closer than ever before" to striking a deal.
At present, Russia occupies Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, and partially occupies Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, in the south and east of Ukraine, after the 2022 invasion.
Russia has called on Ukraine to withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk, which is known as the Donbas region, a part of its bid to end the fighting. Kyiv, however, has refused to do so.
Despite Trump's optimism, Putin's commitment to the truce remains doubtful. Furthermore, the alleged drone strike at the Russian president’s residence has made Moscow take a step back to reconsider its stance, continuing the limbo as Europe braces itself for another year of its deadliest war since the Second World War.
