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WBUR Podcasts, Boston.

There's just no sign that Vladimir Putin wants to give up anything short of pretty serious demands.

There's been a lot of discussion about peace talks and deals in Ukraine, but Russia's war there could go on for a very long time to come.

It's Thursday, December 4th, and this is here and now anytime. From NPR and WBUR Boston, I'm Chris Bentley.

Today on the show, we're taking a deep dive into the war in Ukraine.

How even nearly four years after Russia's full-scale invasion,

the fighting has failed to give either side the decisive victory. And why even though

President Trump promised to end the war within 24 hours of his return to office, it's proven

difficult to resolve diplomatically. That's all coming up at about five minutes. But first,

let's check in on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's rough day in Washington.

Hegseth is under fire for his campaign of airstrikes against alleged drugboats in the Caribbean,

which has included at least one double-tap bombing to make sure everyone on board was killed.

This week, he denied giving the order for that follow-up strike on two shipwrecked survivors, but said he supported the killings

anyway. Over about three months, the Defense Department says the U.S. carried out at least 21

strikes and killed at least 82 people.

It accused of being drug traffickers, a claim for which it provided no evidence, let alone

tried to prosecute legally. But you might remember the defense secretary was also at the center

of a controversy over his use of the messaging app signal to share sensitive information

ahead of another lethal

strike, this one back in March. He accidentally shared sensitive information with the editor-in-chief

...