What many in the West perceived as a strategic blunder is increasingly seen in Moscow as a costly but necessary and ultimately successful gamble. As the all-out war in Ukraine enters its fifth year, Russian political elites remain convinced that their leader, Vladimir Putin, did not make a grave error by launching it in February 2022. Instead, they are looking back with a sense of achievement, and they have good reason to believe that the war is ending on their terms, perhaps even soon.
Ukraine and Russia concluded a second round of US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi on Thursday aimed at ending Europe's biggest conflict since the second world war, with the two sides conducting a major prisoner swap and agreeing to resume negotiations soon. But Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's special envoy involved in the talks, cautioned that significant work remains in the weeks ahead, dampening expectations of any swift move towards peace.
Taras always resented his dark-red Russian passport and was happy to replace it with a blue Ukrainian one. But it was a process that took him 11 years and two trials. He is one of more than 150,000 Russian nationals living in Ukraine as the war with Russia continues. Most are relatives or spouses of Ukrainians or were born in Ukraine. Some are dissidents seeking refuge or volunteers with the Ukrainian army.
The most conservative figures around half a million deaths on the Ukrainian side are five times higher than those of the Balkan War (1992-1995), which totaled 100,000, of whom 13,500 were civilians.
The total number of Russian soldiers who have been killed, injured or gone missing since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has reached over 1.2 million, according to a new report published on Wednesday. The Washington-based think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), gathered its data from information from military personnel, intelligence agencies and various governments. The report also predicted that the combined number of losses for both sides could reach 2 million by April if fighting continues at its current intensity.
