After two and a half years of conflict between Russia and Ukraine, kyiv is still under siege by drone and missile strikes. Donald Trump is preparing to return to the White House and the war begins a new phase of escalation. Meanwhile, kyiv commemorates 1,000 days of the Russian invasion on November 19, 2024. If the weather is not festive, this sad anniversary is nevertheless an opportunity to take stock of the situation.
If we do not have the exact figures, since the start of the conflict, the war would have left a total of nearly a million Russians and Ukrainians dead or injured, estimated The Wall Street Journal in an article published on September 17, 2024.
A catastrophic human toll
On the kyiv side, there were 80,000 dead and 400,000 injured. Since February 2022, “at least 12,164 civilians were killed, including more than 600 children. At least 26,871 others were injured, and these are only the confirmed figures”affirms the United Nations in an article published on November 18 on its website.
The main dates of the war in Ukraine
On the Russian side, the toll would be even higher. In September, The Wall Street Journal reported 200,000 deaths and 400,000 injured. On November 15, 2024, the BBC claimed to have identified the names of 78,329 Russian soldiers who died in the invasion of Ukraine. And on November 10, 2024, the British Chief of Defense Staff, Sir Tony Radakin, told the British television channel: “Russia is on the brink of suffering 700,000 deaths or injuries.”
The conflict intensifies internationally
Alliances are strengthening. Volodymyr Zelensky said on November 7 that around 11,000 North Korean soldiers were deployed in Kursk to support the Russians, CNN reported in an article published the next day. According to the Financial Times, Pyongyang has also supplied weapons and long-range projectiles to Moscow and the G20 countries are concerned about sending 100,000 North Korean troops to Russia if the agreement between Kim Jong-Un and Vladimir Putin was consolidating, Bloomberg revealed on November 17.
In response, US President Joe Biden reportedly authorized Ukraine to use its ATACMS missiles in the Kursk region. Information that seems to be confirmed by the Ukrainian president who declared on Telegram on November 18: “Strikes are not done through words. Such things are not announced. The missiles will speak for themselves.”
Europe ready to step up?
According to The Guardian, Great Britain should in turn give the green light to Ukraine to launch its Storm Shadow missiles at targets in Russia. For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron declared on November 18 that Joe Biden had taken “a good decision” during the G20 summit in Brazil, Reuters reported. Germany, for its part, maintained its decision not to provide Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles.
Finally, according to The Guardian, the Kremlin rejected a peace proposal proposed at the G20 summit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The latter “would aim to freeze hostilities on the current positions of the two parties”. So on day 1,000, peace still seems far away.
