🟠 The Ukraine War 3 years on

I have a clear memory of that day 3 years ago…

Like many big things that have happened in recent years, it’s tied to Squizing it for you. Kate Watson had just started parental leave and it was me and Larissa Moore on the Squiz Today podcast. 

We went to bed not knowing if Russia’s invasion would happen and woke to find “Russia is attacking Ukraine from the north, south, and east by land, air and sea,” as we wrote that day.

Since then, Russia has pushed its way into Ukrainian territory and occupies roughly 20% of the country following a big push in 2024. For Ukraine’s part, it captured 1,250 square km of Russian territory last year, but progress stalled as Russia deployed over 50,000 troops to counter the attack. 

With US President Donald Trump back in power and promising to bring the war to an end, there’s a lot at stake. So let’s get into our Club Picks to get up to date:

1. First, let’s take stock of the war’s toll. In Ukraine, the fighting and air strikes have inflicted over 40,000 civilian casualties, while 4 million people are internally displaced, and 6.8 million have fled Ukraine. As for military losses, over 95,000 people fighting for Russia have died, along with at least 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers. Some of those personal stories and the big data have been expertly highlighted by the BBC. 

2. A lot has happened in the last 10 days since Trump’s phone call with Putin. AP says it’s been the “undoing years of US policy to isolate the Russian leader over his aggression - it was taken as a signal in Kyiv and other European capitals that their alliance to contain Moscow was fraying.” You can easily get on top of the extraordinary events of the last week and a half here. 

3. The motivation behind Trump’s ‘pivot’ towards Russia is something that’s under the microscope. This Wall Street Journal article out this morning says his advisers reckon it’s simple - “the president simply doesn’t believe Ukraine can win the war and that it needs to end.” 

4. Still, western democracies - particularly those in Europe that have close proximity to the war - are beside themselves over Trump’s moves. This New York Times editorial ‘Who Will Stand Up To Trump On Ukraine’ brings together counter-arguments to Trump’s approach. 

With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offering to remove himself as president if it helps his nation secure a better future and an in-person meeting between Trump and Putin said to be in the works, it’s one to stay across.