When-will-the-war-in-Ukraine-end-And-9-more-questions-about-Russias-invasion--NPR-u

Hein Goemans I mean, some people are trying to pitch this as, oh, the United States versus Russia, which is a big mistake. The support of the west is crucial, but it is not on behalf of the direct interests of the United States and the west. It is certainly on behalf of the indirect interest of the security architecture of Europe and the whole world. But the people are doing the fighting and the dying, and whose interests are most directly at stake are the Ukrainians.

• It would not be the first time Russia has employed such a strategy of attrition, turning an active conflict into a frozen one for lack of a better solution.









• "The nightmare scenario would be that the states close to Russia double down on aid to Ukraine while those farther west decide to force a deal on Putin's terms. Then Europe itself could fracture," he says.









• Adm Rob Bauer, who heads the alliance's military committee, said the public needed to change their mindset for an era "when anything can happen at any time".









• Over the summer, however, the challenge facing Ukraine's forces was glaringly obvious as they struggled to break through heavily fortified Russian positions and lines of defenses along a swathe of the 600-mile-long front line across the southern and east of the country.









• That would make him the president who not only lost the war but also large parts of his country.









• Ukraine, say, accepts Russian sovereignty over Crimea and parts of the Donbas.

And then the question you’ve got to ask is, what causes those war aims to change? War actually does something that we cannot do in peacetime. It lets you see on the battlefield how strong you really are, how resolved and how strong your opponent is. And in addition, know the attitude and behaviour of potential allies of either side. So one of the basic characteristics of war is that it provides information.

Is Russia still using the concept of denazification as justification for the war? — Anya

But others have responded by "prepping for war" - stocking food and fuel. There is a sense in the upper echelons of the British military that many politicians and most of the public have not grasped the threat they see. It is the duty of the military to analyse that threat, and they still might be proved wrong. But European nations closer to Russian borders appear to be taking it more seriously.

• Trepova said she had gone along with Gestalt's instructions because she assumed the purpose of eavesdropping on Tatarsky was to find out more of what he knew about the war, which she opposed.









• Russians go to the polls from March 15, less than a month after the full-scale invasion marks its second anniversary.









• To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.









• The government says it wants to spend 2.5% of national income on defence - but has still not said when.

By early summer Ukraine will be able to use US-made F16 fighter jets for the first time, which it hopes will improve its ability to counter Russian aircraft and strengthen its own air defences. Gen Sanders' speech was intended to be a wake-up call for the nation. But without political support, the mindset of a country that does not feel like it is about to go to war is unlikely to change. To train and equip that larger army would inevitably require more money. The government says it wants to spend 2.5% of national income on defence - but has still not said when. He was not making a case for conscription or for an imminent call up of volunteers.

Kyiv working to organise visit by Hungary's Orban, Ukraine deputy PM says

Russia already controls most of Sievierodonetsk, Haidai said on Sunday morning, and if Ukrainian forces lose the city, fighting is expected to focus on neighbouring Lysychansk, from which 32 residents have been evacuated over the weekend despite heavy shelling. The Western military alliance chief said that supplying Ukraine with more modern weapons would increase its chances of being able to liberate the country's eastern Donbas region, much of which is currently under Russian control. https://desertoption93.bloggersdelight.dk/2024/02/13/how-will-the-war-in-ukraine-end-the-potential-paths-forward-in-vladimir-putins-ill-conceived-invasion/ uses Russia's internal security forces to suppress that opposition. But this turns sour and enough members of Russia's military, political and economic elite turn against him. The West makes clear that if Putin goes and is replaced by a more moderate leader, then Russia will see the lifting of some sanctions and a restoration of normal diplomatic relations.

• Refusal can mean a jail sentence, though there is the option of civilian service out of uniform too.









• In addition, the Ukrainian government anticipates that it will continue to receive Western military support – and ideally, at even greater volume than now.









• He agreed to a House rules change that would allow any member to initiate a vote to remove him as speaker, forcing him to tread carefully even on issues that enjoy majority Republican support — such as Ukraine assistance.

The vehicles carry the hope of enabling battlefield wins for Ukrainian forces that will lead to some kind of war-ending scenario — if the weapons arrive in time. Since the counteroffensive was launched in June, only a handful of villages have been recaptured. Last week, another senior Nato military chief said countries needed to be on alert "and expect the unexpected". Adm Rob Bauer, who heads the alliance's military committee, said the public needed to change their mindset for an era "when anything can happen at any time". Ukrainian troops are also pushing back hard against Russian forces, focusing their efforts on breaking through Russia's heavily fortified defensive lines across occupied territory in southern and eastern Ukraine. Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor in Ukraine's internal affairs ministry, posted a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, in which Shoigu said the Russian army is continuing to "build up the combat power" of its forces to face Ukraine's counteroffensive.

Will Ukraine War End in 2024? Experts Weigh In

Hein Goemans So I study war because it’s terrible, and because it’s truly terrible. I was raised, you know, in the Netherlands and with family members who had fought and who had died in the second world war in the camps and, you know, and elsewhere. It’s gonna take a lot of dying and a lot of death and destruction before both sides say, okay, we kind of, we can anticipate what the war is gonna end like and like, and we’re going to accept that and we’re gonna make a deal on that basis. Before we get to the show, I’d like to tell you about a survey we’re conducting to find out more from our listeners about what you think of the show and what you’d like to hear more of. You can find the survey at ft.com/rachmansurvey and we’ll put the link in our show notes.

Many prisoners remain in custody months after their initial capture. Russia claimed Ukraine shot the plane down with several missiles. Ukraine has not admitted nor denied responsibility for the attack, calling for an international investigation into the incident. The "Ukrainian side was not informed about the need to ensure the safety of the airspace in the area of the city of Belgorod in a certain period of time, as was repeatedly done in the past," the agency added. Johnson, writing in the Sunday Times, said the supply of weapons had to continue, and that it would be necessary to “preserve the viability of the Ukrainian state” by providing financial support “to pay wages, run schools, deliver aid and begin reconstruction”.

"The nightmare scenario would be that the states close to Russia double down on aid to Ukraine while those farther west decide to force a deal on Putin's terms. Then Europe itself could fracture," he says. A prominent war expert says the US is on the verge of lessening its support for, or even withdrawing from, NATO - with potentially catastrophic consequences for Europe. It would not be the first time Russia has employed such a strategy of attrition, turning an active conflict into a frozen one for lack of a better solution. In Syria, where it has been propping up President Bashar al-Assad, Russia has used a cycle of offensives followed by ceasefires to slowly split and crush the opposition. “I am fully convinced that the end of the war is not imminent,” he added, pointing to “one crucial factor”” Russia, he said, has “the political-strategic and operational-tactical initiative, while Ukraine and the Western alliance react”. As Russia’s military campaign grinds on, experts weigh in on the most likely scenarios going forward.

There may have been no lightning breakthroughs in 2023, but Ukraine can point to some gains this year. Kyiv has reclaimed more than half of the land Russia had captured since the start of the war in February 2022 and grabbed headlines by liberating villages and towns in the south and east. "Unfortunately, there is a very real chance that the Russo-Ukraine war will last well into 2024 and possibly beyond," he said.

Defense experts told CNBC their baseline scenario for 2024 was a continuation of the current intensity of fighting but the same sense of stalemate with neither side able to progress much on the ground and take or reclaim territory. Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker told CNBC he believes American and EU aid packages for Ukraine will be approved come January, saying he believed this funding would tide Ukraine over for another year, militarily. Volker said that aid packages must include more advanced weaponry for Ukraine, however, like F-16 fighter jets which have been pledged by Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands.