IN just a few days last week, the stakes in the war in Ukraine were raised even higher.Ukraine literally fired the opening salvo by launching US-supplied missiles with a longer range that could reach targets deep in Russian territory.At the same time, Ukrainian aircraft unleashed British-made Storm Shadow missiles in Russia's Kursk region.In quick response, Russia test-fired the Oreshnik — an experimental hypersonic missile — into the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.Russian President Vladimir Putin also lowered Moscow's threshold for the use of nuclear weapons. Under the new doctrine, an attack from a non-nuclear state, if backed by a nuclear power, will be treated as a joint assault on Russia.Putin also warned that the war had taken on 'elements of a global character.' Even as he spoke, thousands of North Korean troops had been massing in Russia, waiting to be deployed to the Ukrainian front.Pyongyang leader Kim Jong Un added fuel to the blaze by saying that 'never before' has the threat of a nuclear war been greater.The fast-paced developments come as the war in Ukraine entered its 1,000th day last week. Putin launched the invasion ostensibly to 'de-Nazify' Russia's neighbor, confident that the Kyiv government would capitulate in a matter of weeks.He did not anticipate the fierce resistance put up by the Ukrainian army.The fighting has killed or wounded more than 30,000 Ukrainian civilians. Thousands more have fled the country.Each side has had its share of victories and losses. Ukrainian forces scored a strategic win by infiltrating deep into Kursk, but that offensive has ground to a halt.Russian troops, meanwhile, are closing in on several Ukrainian border towns.Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hoped to regain the initiative with the acquisition of longer-range missiles, but Putin countered by launching the Oreshnik, which, because it travels at five times the speed of sound, makes it harder to intercept. Putin has boasted there are 'no ways of counteracting this weapon.'With both sides upgrading their arsenals, a negotiated settlement will be harder to achieve. Previous attempts to initiate a diplomatic solution have sputtered and stalled. Just days after the Russian invasion, peace negotiators met in Belarus but failed to work out a deal.A month later, negotiations in Turkey produced the framework of an agreement that would have declared Ukraine a neutral state. That was as far as it went.In June, the Swiss government tried to establish 'a forum for a high-level dialogue on ways to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine in accordance with international law and the UN Charter.' Nothing came of it because Russia was not invited.Political observers believed China could play a key role in fashioning a negotiated settlement to end the war in Ukraine.China's President Xi Jinping is convinced Putin needs a trusted ally by his side if ever he has to face his Western arch-rivals across the negotiating table.An online analytical piece by the BBC supports this theory. 'Beijing has become a vital partner for Moscow in its efforts to soften the impact of sanctions imposed by the US and other countries,' the BBC said. China 'would react with horror at the use of nuclear weapons — thus discouraging Putin from making true on his threats.'The BBC also said last week's developments 'may not be the start of the war escalating out of control — but the start of a tussle for the strongest negotiating position in potential future talks to end it.'The war in Ukraine continues to disrupt the flow of goods across the world, sending inflation, interest rates, and commodity and energy prices soaring.Last week, oil prices were at a two-week high as the war boosted the market's geopolitical risk premium.The Philippines has reason to support a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine war. When Zelenskyy visited the Philippines earlier this year, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. referred to Ukraine as a 'valued partner.'The partnership entails that the Philippines must help prevent Ukraine from becoming the nucleus of a global conflict.
