KEY POINTSAs the Russia-Ukraine war heads into winter, there has been some expectation that freezing temperatures on the battlefield could bring a lull in the conflict.Last weekend, a top U.S. intelligence official even said they expected to see a “reduced tempo” in the fighting and that this was likely to continue over the “coming months.”There appears to be no signs in a let-up in the war, however, and both Russia and Ukraine are sending out smoke signals that there is no time, and no desire, for a cessation of hostilities.As the Russia-Ukraine war heads into winter, there has been some expectation that freezing temperatures on the battlefield could bring a lull in the conflict.Last weekend, a top U.S. intelligence official even said they expected to see a “reduced tempo” in the fighting and that this was likely to continue over the “coming months” with both the Ukrainian and Russian militaries expected to regroup and resupply, and to prepare for counter-offensives in the spring.There appears to be no signs in a let-up, however — with extremely intense fighting in eastern Ukraine, with the devastation in parts of the region reminiscent of World War I — and both Russia and Ukraine sending out smoke signals that there is no time, and no desire, for a cessation of hostilities.Russia President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signaled that he was in it for the long-haul, saying the conflict could be a “lengthy process,” continuing attempts by the Kremlin to suggest to the Russian public that the war will not be over soon and that there will be no pause over winter.Ukraine has also showed no signs of letting-up, particularly as it tries to build on momentum that has allowed it to liberate chunks of Kharkiv in the northeast, and Kherson in the south, and now concentrates its efforts on defending its position in Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine.CNBC.com