10 hours Ago
February 24, 2025 recognizes three full years of the war launched by Vladimir Putin on the same day in 2022.His Russian invasion of Ukraine is the largest European conflict since World War II, and arguably the first major war to be covered in real time by social media. People throughout the world have watched with incredulity as the Kremlin’s armed forces have marched into Ukraine, reducing entire cities to rubble and displacing millions of people.
For thirty-six months this advancing disaster has dominated global news headlines.Not many expected Ukraine to reach this grim milestone. Truthfully, prior to Russia’s carefully planned, unprovoked full-scale invasion, odds makers agreed any organized Ukrainian resistance would probably collapse within a matter of days.
On reflection, it is quite obvious that both Vladimir Putin and a huge majority of international onlookers were uniformly guilty of incorrectly judging and underestimating Ukraine.Trump and Zelenskyy trade barbs as US-Ukraine relations sour over the war with RussiaWhile their country has exceeded all realistic expectations, the Ukrainian people have little to celebrate as the war passes the 1,096 day marker. Putin’s incursion has imposed truly unprecedented anguish on Ukraine, including hundreds of thousands killed and well over fifteen million people forced to flee their homeland.
Massive numbers of Ukrainian military personnel and civilians have suffered life-altering injuries. The physical and psychological toll from three years of non-stop fighting has been colossal for the Ukrainian men and women defending their country on the frontlines.Apart from the battleground, Russia’s invasion has thrust Ukraine’s entire population into a mental health crisis that is destined to last for some decades.
Nearly every person has experienced some type of personal loss or wartime trauma. In cities and towns across Ukraine, the populace has unfortunately grown accustomed to a new normal daily routine of air raid alarms, bomb shelters and power outages, all accompanied by flying missiles, drone strikes and painfully harrowing news of the latest Russian atrocities.In spite of the endless terror and adversity, the Ukrainian people have stuck together united by a strong shared conviction and perseverance.
In addition to a desperate desire for peace, Ukrainians also recognize their nation is in a battle for survival and faces destruction if Putin’s invasion succeeds. This has been made perfectly clear by the actions of the Russian armed forces in areas of Ukraine under Russian control with thousands of protesters captured and children forcefully taken away and indoctrinated with Russian propaganda.Most Ukrainians recognize the need to keep fighting, but there exist escalating fears over continued international assistance.
In the first few months of the invasion, the viewing world was amazed by Ukrainian bravery and resiliency as the country stood its ground against Russia’s mighty military. This courageous display helped convince the West that providing Ukraine arms aid was honorable and beneficial. Unfortunately, as the war has persisted, complaints about the cost of supplying military backing to Ukraine have gotten louder.
Outcries calling for some sort of compromise with Moscow have also amplified.A worried NATO holds large-scale combat drills as the US stance on Europe shifts under TrumpWhenever Western allies slow down delivering military aid, the cost can be measured in Ukrainian lives. Such delays allow Russia to continue bombing Ukrainian cities and towns, pressing forward along the war’s frontlines.
Deficiencies in military support are also making it much more difficult for Ukraine to call up new soldiers for their army with many potential recruits fearful by the prospect of entering the battle minus the required weapons or protection.While Kyiv wrestles to persuade waffling Western leaders, Russia is building a coalition of autocrats to fortify the Kremlin’s war effort. Over the past three years, Putin has bolstered ties with China, North Korea and Iran, receiving from them support in the form of sanctioned high-tech weapon parts, drones, ballistic missiles and large quantities of artillery shells.
This bloc of autocratic countries is playing more and more of a direct role in the invasion of Ukraine with thousands of North Korean soldiers now fighting next to Russians on the battlefield.Donald Trump’s return to the White House has fueled anticipation that the war will enter a new phase with the incoming U.S.
administration expected to push for a negotiated settlement. There is no doubt Ukrainians want to see this horrific war end. However, there are growing concerns that the West’s attempts to pursue peace from a position of weakness may result in pro-Kremlin terms which would only encourage Putin toward further Russian aggression.
Ukrainians have especially painful memories of the failed peace process following Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea and eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region. Russia refused to even admit its direct involvement in the hostilities asserting a noncombatant status. This ludicrous state made it downright impossible to make any real progress toward a peaceful resolution.
Today it is very evident that while Moscow was going through the motions of diplomacy to end the war, Russia was in fact putting together a battle plan for its full-scale invasion of February 24, 2022.Before any discussions of peace, Ukrainians will be trusting their international partners have not disregarded the enormous costs they would face if Russia is not stopped in Ukraine. Putin’s invasion three years ago has already reshaped the geopolitical landscape and ushered in the arrival of a daunting authoritarian alliance which shares a common allegiance of terminating the era of Western dominance.
A Russian victory in Ukraine would markedly reinforce this alliance with serious consequences for the security state of affairs from Central Europe to East Asia.As the world deliberates on three years of Russia’s assault on Ukraine, the Ukrainian nation is depleted, yet persistently determined to end the conflict on terms that will allow its future generations to live in peace. This will be impossible without ongoing international support.
Putin was dead wrong to presume that Ukraine would crumble in the aftermath of his invasion. Western leaders must now convince him that he is just as wrong in believing he can outlast them in Ukraine.Ihor N.
Stelmach is a former principal and history teacher at St. Michael’s Ukrainian Parochial School in Hartford..
