Six months of war in Ukraine

Islam News – The largest land war in Europe since World War II has sown horror for six months. Military losses have been heavy for both sides, and civilian casualties in Ukraine could be in the tens of thousands; there are now 6.6 million refugees from the war.

The anniversary fell on Ukraine’s Independence Day, which the country celebrated with quiet resolve. A missile strike on a railway station in central Ukraine killed at least 15 people, but a feared escalation of attacks by Moscow did not immediately materialize.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, now controls about 20 percent of Ukraine. But he appears as far as ever from bringing it back into Russia’s fold — and there is little indication that he is prepared to stop fighting. It is also unclear what sort of deal he would accept to end the war. Here is how the conflict appears to the combatants, and to a continent plunged into turmoil.

Ukraine: Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine was a nation “reborn” in conflict with a renewed sense of cultural and political identity, now wholly separate from Russia, and that it had united democracies around the world with a new sense of purpose. “Every new day is a new reason not to give up,” he said.

Russia: After half a year of war, Russia is both stunningly different and shockingly unchanged. Putin has silenced most dissent, and many Russians have been able to ignore the war, since Putin has resisted calls to put Russia on a war footing and his government has succeeded in largely blunting the impact of economic sanctions.

Allies: European solidarity with Ukraine is holding despite significant strains from the cost of economic sanctions, but the war is increasingly being seen as an American-led struggle. President Biden announced nearly $3 billion more of arms and equipment for Ukraine.