Ukraine and Russia say they want the war to end. But military and political experts say they’re nowhere near peace talks

Ukraine is set to pitch its peace plan for ending the war with Russia to allied national security advisors in Switzerland on Sunday, as officials gather in the ski resort of Davos ahead of the World Economic Forum.

It’s not the first time Ukraine has presented its 10-point “Peace Formula” but the hope in Kyiv is that, by winning over international partners to support its plan, pressure will be piled on Russia to concede to Kyiv’s conditions for the cessation of hostilities.

Russia has been absent from gatherings focused on the peace proposals and criticized recent talks in Malta in October, describing them as anti-Russian and counterproductive. Russia’s ally China, seen to be one of the few countries that could influence Moscow’s position on Ukraine, also skipped the talks.

Whether the latest peace-focused summit can bear any fruit is uncertain. Political and military experts say that with the war in a very much active phase, and with neither side having the upper hand in the conflict, peace plans and future talks are “wishful thinking” at this time.

“Some people are suggesting that we might have gotten to the point where there is no more that can be achieved on the battlefield and so the only option is to sit down and negotiate. I think that’s wishful thinking,” Sam Greene, a professor in Russian politics at King’s College London, told CNBC.

“It is true that the battlefield isn’t moving very far in one direction or the other but the reality is that there’s a lot going on on the battlefield that’s keeping it exactly where it is … There’s a lot of fighting going on. That indicates that both sides feel there is more that they can achieve, and need to achieve, on the battlefield.”

The priorities in Ukraine’s peace formula are the withdrawal of all Russian troops from its…