Four years of war in Ukraine have brought about a seismic transformation in the nature of war, the balance of global powers, and European security, writes journalist Nick Paton Walsh in an analysis published on the CNN website.
For Ukraine, the war has been a curse: the country was forced to adapt in order to survive and keep Russia away from Europe’s borders, thus sparing its allies the nightmare of a direct confrontation.
Kyiv is paying the price with ongoing losses.
“Some of us are still optimistic, but only because there is no other option,” said a military intelligence officer, quoted by the CNN journalist.
The Ukrainians who are fighting are the ones who most intensely wish for the war to truly end tomorrow.
Paradoxically, many in the West also wish for the war to stop, due to the costs it imposes on their defense budgets and utility bills.
CNN Journalist: The war is likely to continue in the coming years
Spending less now, Europe is threatened with much higher costs in the future, should the conflict expand.
According to most Western estimates, if the front lines were to collapse and Kyiv were to fall, Moscow would soon move to NATO’s borders.
However, this threat does not seem to panic Europe and does not prompt it to act at a continental level.
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