The successful counter-offensive around Kharkiv could represent a turning point in the Ukraine war. While Zelensky is announcing further advances in recapturing occupied territories, Putin has signaled a willingness to negotiate. With his army failing, the Kremlin boss is coming under growing pressure. Commentators look at whether all this means the war will soon end – or escalate.
Today, Europe’s press debates the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are some opinions from a selection of European publications, presented by eurotopics.
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Kremlin boss very vulnerable now
Putin has never been as weak as he is now, The Irish Times points out:
“Putin now needs to watch his back. It was possible for him to be wrong about Ukraine so long as he appeared strong. But he is now exposed as both wrong and weak. His unnecessary war has boomeranged into an existential one for him. Far-right Russian nationalists demand a tougher war against Ukraine, with full mobilisation of the population. Russia’s oligarchs and diplomats know they have to keep quiet to survive but are likely desperate for change. This can come suddenly. In the Soviet Union everything was forever until it was no more. So it may be with Putinism.”
The end of Russian imperialism
A Russian defeat in Ukraine could put an end to centuries of Russian imperialism, Tygodnik Powszechny hopes:
“A Western journalist recently wrote that Putin’s fate will be decided in Ukraine. That is possible. Perhaps even more: it may be that today we are witnessing the definitive end of the Russian imperial project. This project began in the 14th century, when Prince Ivan Kalitá laid the foundation for Moscow’s expansion: first in historic Rus’ and then on and on. That is also what this war is about.”
ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, November, 24, 2024
Putin won’t back down
The Russian president will only intensify the war effort, predicts Cătălin Harnagea, former director of Romania’s Foreign Intelligence Service, in Evenimentul Zilei:
“The Kremlin boss put his entire political career on the line when he launched this war. And it seems hardly plausible that he will now passively sit back and watch his armed forces be destroyed. As the Chechen war has shown, there is little prospect of Vladimir Putin standing idly by if he considers victory on the battlefield to be absolutely necessary. So this war will have successes and defeats on both sides and claim many more victims and wreak much more destruction before it is over.”
We must not be warmongers
Despite the recent successes of the Ukrainian army Ukraine should not be encouraged to insist on victory at any price, Le Point urges:
“Let us always remember that this war we are not fighting means the death and devastation of others. … Too many experts in our TV studios want to fight to the bitter end in Ukraine. That Ukraine has enough weapons to win is certainly true. But this support should not turn us into unrealistic warmongers ready for any escalation, no matter how high the price for the Ukrainians. Let us never lose sight of the goal of restoring peace, which will inevitably imply some form of compromise with the aggressor.”
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