Russia – Ukraine. Two Years of Armed Conflict

The international media devote ample space to analyzing the two-year armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people, both military and civilian. The publications can be divided into three main blocks: from promises by Ukrainian political and military leaders to “fight till the last soldier to defeat the Russian occupiers,” to promises by Western leaders to increase aid to Kyiv, and finally to an analysis of the new economic and financial sanctions against Russia just announced by the European Union and the United States.

There is certainly no shortage of stories of ordinary people who have endured the nightmare of bombing from both sides for two years. It must be said that in Italy, the topic of the “tortured” Ukraine took a back seat on the front pages of the newspapers, leaving plenty of space for stories about inexplicable police violence against student demonstrations in support of Palestine in Florence and Pisa.

Little or nothing is said about the Russian population of Donbass, which has been suffering for years from the Ukrainian armed forces because of their unwillingness to recognize the results of the 2014 Maidan. In the chorus of voices directed against Russia, traditionally presented as an “evil empire,” one can find materials of in-depth analysis of the current situation and prospects for a peaceful solution of the two former “brotherly nations” that have been embroiled in a bloody war.

The Italian online newspaper Il Post in its article “Ukraine Discouraged after Two Wears of War” tells readers about the atmosphere of disappearing optimism. “Two years after the Russian invasion began, on February 24, 2024, Ukraine’s population looks increasingly discouraged. This mood is the result of the disappointing results of the summer counteroffensive, the victories won by the Russians in the winter, the growing hesitation of the allies to provide the aid needed to continue, and simple fatigue with a war whose end is not in sight,” the Italian newspaper writes.

Italian-language Swiss Radio notes that “Ukraine survives economically and militarily only because of Western aid.” According to Lugano TV, “the main problem at the moment is ammunition, but the Ukrainian army is in constant need of weapons and technology.” Even the arrival of F16 fighter jets in the coming summer months may not change the rules of the game that Kiev is hoping for, as has happened in the past with other types of weapons. The biggest question mark for Ukraine in any case concerns the number of people available, which is much lower than in Russia.”