Led by the expansionist impulses of their leader, the Russian ranks currently occupy almost 20% of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, annexed in 2014. The Kremlin’s efforts are now focused on three fronts in the East of the country: Kharkiv and Sumy (in the North-East), Luhansk (in the East) and Zaporizhzhia, Odessa and Donestk (in the South). Since the end of the summer, kyiv seems to be in a bad position again after having gradually lost some 400 of the 1000 square kilometers conquered during the counter-offensive in Kursk, in Russian territory, as indicated by the researcher at the Center for ‘Security and Defense Studies, Estelle Hoorickx, at RTBF.
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A human toll exceeding one million dead and injured
Beyond the territorial losses, the human toll is alarming. On September 18, the Wall Street Journal issued an estimate of the human losses attributed to this fight. 200,000 Russians and 80,000 Ukrainians have died there since February 24, 2022, while 800,000 individuals have been injured, this number being distributed equally between the two camps. In total, more than a million Russians and Ukrainians were injured or killed in this war.
Recent notable events
The current state of the situation now exposed, it is appropriate to return to three recent significant events.
At the end of October, a new country burst into discussions around this conflict: North Korea. According to several sources, some 10,000 soldiers from Pyongyang have joined Russian troops on the front. This announcement provoked numerous reactions on the international scene, with the West worried about such a rapprochement.
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On Sunday, November 17, Russia launched a “massive attack” on Ukraine, even damaging some energy infrastructure such as thermal power plants. According to the operator Ukrenergo, this was the tenth major attack against the Ukrainian energy network since the start of the year. As a precaution, neighboring Poland took off fighter planes to protect its territory.
The same day, outgoing US President Joe Biden made a landmark decision by authorizing Ukraine’s use of long-range ATACMS missiles supplied by the United States on Russian soil. An explosive announcement, with the Russian president likening it to a declaration of war by NATO countries.
