Common sense dictates the Russia-Ukraine conflict must end, and serious effort should be invested in achieving the peace settlement. 

Consider the costs in lives and treasure. Despite the unimaginable toll in lives and the vast spending and commitment of arms by the U.S. over the past 10 months, victory for either side is not on the horizon. 

One hundred thousand Ukrainian troops have been killed or injured since Russia's invasion in February, according to the European Commission's President Ursula von der Leyen. The Pentagon assessed the number of dead or injured Russian troops at 100,000 and dead Ukrainian civilians at 40,000. 

U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Mark Milley admitted to reporters in November that the "probability of Ukrainian military victory happening anytime soon is not high." The U.S. weapons arsenal is severely depleted. There’s a $19 billion backlog of weapons that will not reach Taiwan on schedule, according to The Wall Street Journal, jeopardizing Taiwan’s ability to defend itself from an invasion by China. 

WHAT IS PUTIN THINKING? WHERE THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR STANDS NINE MONTHS AFTER INVASION

The Pentagon has used up, in 10 months of the war, 13 years worth of Stinger production and five years worth of Javelin production, according to Raytheon’s CEO. U.S. defense industry production capacity to restock those inventories is extremely limited. U.S. security aid in November reached $68 billion, and the Biden administration has asked Congress for another $37.7 billion.

But the probability of a peace settlement remains extremely low. Moscow, Kyiv and Washington — the key stakeholders in the current war — maintain irreconcilable positions while pursuing unachievable goals.

Russia’s position. Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite tactical setbacks on the battlefield, insists on the West’s recognition of Crimea, which Russia invaded in 2014, and four other recently annexed territories in Eastern Ukraine, as Russian. This is a non-starter for the U.S. or Europe, as such a concession would amount to handing victory to Putin. 

On Tuesday, Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov ruled out peace negotiations, insisting that Russia "will achieve the goals it has set." Putin almost certainly is preparing for a protracted war of attrition, having noted on Wednesday that "to start seeing the results of the special operation will be a long process." 

FIVE REASONS WHY BIDEN MUST MOVE TO DE-ESCALATE THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR NOW

In November, Russia completed a partial mobilization, the first since World War II, having added 318,000 military personnel and increased its 2023 military budget by $13.6 billion to $84 billion. 

Moscow also continues covert mobilization, upgrading recruitment centers, drafting new call-up lists and releasing convicts from prisons and sending them to the front. Putin is betting that by subjecting Ukrainians to unimaginable suffering, depriving them of heat, electricity and drinking water as Russian forces are pounding Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, he can compel Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept Russia’s demands. 

Ukraine’s position. Zelenskyy also continues to pursue unrealistic war aims. In early November, he set conditions for "genuine peace talks" with Russia. Kyiv seeks to restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity by driving the Russians out of the entire country, including Crimea, get compensated for the destruction of the nation by Russia and have key Russian officials and some soldiers tried by the International Criminal Court. Until recently, Zelenskyy insisted he would only negotiate with a new Russian president, clearly not a serious condition. 

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So far, the charismatic former actor has been very successful at convincing American and European governments to part with large amounts of cash from their countries' treasuries to help defend his country from the Russians. U.S. aid to Kyiv has exceeded 50% of Ukraine’s 2021 GDP of $200.1 billion. A recently released poll, however, reveals that support among Americans for indefinite aid to Ukraine has dropped, and nearly half of Americans (47%) believe that Washington must urge Kyiv to settle for peace. 

It is unlikely that Zelenskyy’s recent appeal for another $55 billion to cover budget shortfalls and reconstruction will find many supporters. Even Elon Musk, whose donation to Ukraine through his company SpaceX to provide Starlink satellite communications is projected to reach $100 million by the end of the year, indicated that there are limits to his generosity. Without Starlink internet terminals, on which the Ukrainian military is reliant for command and control, Kyiv’s ability to continue the fight will be severely degraded.

The Biden Administration position. While Washington has scaled down its goals for this proxy war with Russia, it still operates in the wishful thinking paradigm. Calls for Putin’s removal by Biden and others betrayed how removed from reality Washington politicians are. Contemplating a regime change in a country that possesses the world’s largest nuclear arsenal and whose president enjoys a 75% approval rating is wishful thinking. So was the objective articulated by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in April to "weaken" the Russian military "to the degree it cannot do the kind of things that it has done in invading Ukraine." 

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken articulated a much more modest agenda on Tuesday: drive Russians back to pre-invasion lines, letting Putin keep the strategic peninsula of Crimea and parts of Donbas. Expelling the Russians from captured and annexed territories would require massive additional outlays in military hardware and involves the risk of Russia’s use of weapons of mass destruction. 

On Wednesday, Putin issued yet another veiled nuclear threat as he and his security council are mulling a response to Ukraine's strike on Russian nuclear missile carriers stationed in a strategic aviation airbase in Russia proper. Paragraph 19 of the Russian nuclear doctrine allows the Kremlin to press the "red button" to launch a retaliatory strike when its strategic weapons facilities are attacked.

The Biden administration understands there’s a credible threat of Putin authorizing a nuclear strike with a low-yield tactical warhead in Ukraine. This is why the Pentagon secretly modified the long-range HIMARS rocket launchers before shipping them to Kyiv to prevent Ukrainians from firing missiles deep into Russian territory. 

It’s also why, on Tuesday, Blinken insisted that the U.S. did not encourage or help Ukrainians carry out strikes inside Russia. The Biden administration likely is coming to a realization that at some point you run out of taxpayer money and your own defensive arsenal if you continue fueling a war that is unwinnable — even though it may be a just war. 

The Russians have a very high tolerance for casualties, having sacrificed more than 20 million during World War II. Unless Washington steps in and compels Zelenskyy to negotiate an end to this bitter, devastating stalemate, Putin will fight till the last Ukrainian standing.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, an advocate of increased government action to curb carbon emissions, has taken at least 18 flights using taxpayer-funded private jets since taking office, Fox News Digital has learned.

Buttigieg has traveled across the country — visiting Florida, Ohio and New Hampshire, among other states — and out of the country using a private jet fleet managed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), according to flight tracking data reviewed by Fox News Digital. The flight records align with Buttigieg's schedule of external and public engagements obtained by government watchdog group Americans for Public Trust (APT).

Buttigieg's predecessor, Elaine Chao, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, faced criticism for using the same jets on seven occasions in 2017, costing taxpayers nearly $94,000, Politico reported at the time. And Trump-appointed Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price was forced to resign after reportedly taking 26 private jet flights that same year, costing taxpayers about $1.2 million.

Bipartisan leaders on the House Oversight and Reform Committee had opened an investigation into several senior Trump administration officials' use of government-owned and private aircraft for travel days before Price submitted his letter of resignation.

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"Everyday Americans face flight [cancellations] and long wait times because Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has completely mismanaged air travel," APT executive director Caitlin Sutherland told Fox News Digital. "Yet, he gets to avoid all that by taking taxpayer-funded private jets to destinations with readily available commercial airline options."

"And for someone so holier-than-thou on reducing emissions, Buttigieg sure doesn’t seem to mind the pollution caused by his literal jet-setting," she continued. "This is hypocrisy at its finest, and these troubling expenses to taxpayers must come under immediate scrutiny."

While the exact taxpayer cost of Buttigieg's flights is unclear, the FAA has charged federal agencies roughly $5,000 per hour to use its fleet, the Washington Post reported amid the congressional investigation into Trump officials' travel in 2017.

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According to the flight data, Buttigieg used two taxpayer-funded Cessna 560XL private jets for trips in the 22 months since President Joe Biden selected him to lead the Department of Transportation (DOT). The FAA also operates a Gulfstream IV jet.

In one instance of his use of government-managed private jets, Buttigieg traveled roundtrip from Washington, D.C., to Las Vegas to promote public works projects in Nevada in August 2021.

In another example, Buttigieg used a private jet to fly to multiple states in August as a part of a tour highlighting grants authorized under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. He jetted to Florida, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Ohio, Nevada and New Hampshire during the trip titled "Building a Better America Tour."

The states Buttigieg visited have largely been considered swing states in recent federal elections. When asked about his decision to travel to those particular states, he noted that Oklahoma isn't a swing state and said "there was a great story" to tell about the infrastructure grant he was promoting there, Politico reported.

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"We’re going to places that demonstrate the range of things you can do with good transportation dollars," he said.

And, in late September, Buttigieg used an FAA private jet for a roundtrip journey to Montreal. During the visit, he attended an International Civil Aviation Organization conference.

Buttigieg also attended a ceremony during the trip hosted by a large Canadian gay rights organization where he received a prestigious award for his "contributions to the advancement of LGBTQ rights."

Price was partially pressured to resign for using the government private jets for trips that blended both personal and professional use.

"Secretary Buttigieg mostly travels by commercial airline, and has directed that travel and logistical decisions be grounded in efficient and responsible use of taxpayer dollars," a DOT spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "Given that commercial air travel is usually the cheapest way for the Secretary and his staff to travel, 108 of the 126 flights for DOT trips he has taken have been on commercial airlines."

"However, there are some cases where it is more efficient and/or less expensive for the Secretary and accompanying personnel to fly on a 9-seater FAA plane rather than commercial flights," the spokesperson continued. "Use of the FAA plane in limited, specific cases has helped to maximize efficiency and save thousands of taxpayer dollars."

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The spokesperson didn't share information about how much money the agency has saved taxpayers, but commercial flights from Washington, D.C.-area airports to Montreal, Las Vegas, Minneapolis and other cities Buttigieg has visited via private jet are available daily.

Federal law requires that official travel be done using the most expeditious means of transportation "practicable" and "commensurate with the nature and purpose" of said official's duties. Walter Shaub, the former head of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, told Politico in 2017 that federal regulations also state that "taxpayers should pay no more than necessary" for official transportation.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Condé Nast Traveler last month, Buttigieg explained how he likes to arrive to airports an hour early and has "got the pre-check and clear stuff all down" to avoid delays. He didn't mention his use of private jet travel but said his travel is a "bit more complicated with the security arrangements."

Over the summer, lawmakers, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., criticized the DOT for not doing more to combat the increase in commercial flight delays. Airlines have reported an uptick in delays over the course of the last 12 months.

In addition, the transportation secretary has been a vocal proponent of climate action and has repeatedly warned of the dangers posed by human-caused global warming. He has particularly advocated for policies that would transition the U.S. economy to green energy and reduce fossil fuel emissions.

Private jet travel, though, is by far the most carbon intensive mode of transportation. Private jets are 10 times more carbon intensive than commercial planes and 50 times more carbon intensive than trains, according to a 2021 report from the group Transport & Environment.

"The climate crisis is here today, threatening Americans’ lives and livelihoods, our homes and businesses, and even the way we travel and operate our federal agencies," Buttigieg said last year after his agency published its climate adaptation and resilience plan. "The good news is that we know what to do about it, and America is fully capable of rising to the occasion."

"While we work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent the worst outcomes of climate change, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s plan will help ensure that our transportation infrastructure, policies and programs will be more resilient to the climate impacts already facing our country," he added.

Buttigieg attended a 2021 United Nations climate summit in the U.K. where he engaged in climate negotiations with other world leaders and pushed decarbonization policies. He remarked during the event that aviation is a "significant contributor to climate change."