The sound of explosions in the Russian border region of Bryansk was followed by the familiar wail of air raid sirens across Ukraine. On Oct. 22 and into the following day, Russian missiles and drones hit cities from Kharkiv to Odesa, killing at least seven people, including children, and leaving millions without electricity.

Ukraine’s military had earlier claimed a successful strike on a gunpowder plant deep inside Russia, using long-range Franco-British Storm Shadow missiles. The attack was hailed by some as a tactical success, but the response was devastating.

These exchanges are becoming painfully routine. Each “reprisal” triggers another. Each round of strikes pushes the boundaries of escalation. This latest episode coincided with the collapse of proposed U.S.-Russia ceasefire talks in Budapest. Negotiations fell apart over irreconcilable demands, and with them went another flicker of hope for ending a war that has already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced millions more.

It is now clear that this conflict has become a proxy war in all but name. The United States and its allies continue to pour weapons into Ukraine — Javelins, HIMARS, ATACMS — while promising that these will hasten peace. Instead, the result has........

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