The German magazine Der Spiegel published a cover about Ukraine with the title “Endless War.” He called the situation in Kyiv “between courage and despair.”
“Now, when the second winter of the war begins, it is clear: hopes for a new turn of events were in vain. The war has turned into a positional one, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine recently openly spoke about a “stalemate situation”. Only with heavy losses can the sides move the front line a little. That the military experts have known for a long time, the public now suspects: this war cannot be ended quickly by military means. This could last for years,” the publication writes.
Journalists talked with Ukrainians living near the front line, as well as with the military. Soldiers on the one hand oppose negotiations with Russia. On the other hand, they don’t want to fight anymore because they are tired.
“The backbone of our army consists of elderly men from the village; no one under 26 years of age is drafted into the army. And not one of them was for peace negotiations! But at the same time everyone said: I don’t want to fight anymore. Now it’s the turn of others,” he said. Spiegel” a military man named Ivan.
The article quotes the words of Masi Nayem, a war veteran and brother of the head of the State Reconstruction Agency Mustafa Nayyem: “We will not win in a year, nor in two years. And I will surprise you: in five years we will not win.” This statement was made in September at a meeting with Western representatives.
The publication also notes that “authoritarian tendencies” are growing in Ukraine as the war intensifies, citing as an example the removal of mayors of a number of cities. “Ukrainian politics has turned into a kind of one-man show,” the magazine writes, referring to the president’s daily addresses.
Source : Strana