Editor's Note: In 2023, there was a flurry of diplomatic activities around global hot spots. Here is a pick of major diplomatic gains and setbacks in the world.

Russia-Ukraine conflict comes to a gridlock

The Russia-Ukraine conflict, which began in February 2022, fell into a deadlock in 2023. Ukraine's summer counter-offensive failed to achieve a major breakthrough, and Russia announced a planned expansion of its armed forces.

Outside the battlefield, the US and EU are facing tough decisions on their aid package to Ukraine.

Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out, the US has committed more than $44.2 billion in military aid to Ukraine, the Pentagon said in December. A Gallup poll released in November showed that 41 percent of Americans believed the US was doing too much to help Ukraine, a 12-percentage-point increase from 29 percent in June.

EU leaders at a December summit failed to agree on an additional 50-billion-euro ($54.63 billion) aid package to Ukraine. Prior to this, the bloc, having provided huge amounts in aid to Kyiv, has been widely criticized for its "double standards" in the Ukraine and Middle East conflicts.