A year of war in the Ukraine: the generals, Putin and us were all wrong. All hell broke loose in Putin’s puppet theatre

A year ago, on February 18, 2022, US President Joe Biden warned the world, “The danger of invasion is very great.” Of course, this war did not break out completely unexpectedly. Putin was credited with many things. However, few believed that he would actually invade Ukraine with his army. An aggressive war in Europe in the 21st century was simply unimaginable. We were wrong.

On February 24, a new era began. Putin invaded Ukraine. The situation seemed clear. “Putin will win this war,” former German general Erich Vad said on television, “because the Russian armed forces are many times superior.” It only takes a few days. Broad agreement. Most experts saw it that way. Today we know: you were wrong.

The Russian offensive strategy did not work. The army turned out to be sick and the morale of the troops desolate. Above all, however, Ukraine showed its steadfastness and the West quickly rallied behind it. The warmonger in the East had imagined things differently. Putin was wrong.

What’s next? The honest answer is: nobody knows. However, it is clear that peace negotiations are hopeless at the moment – they would end if Ukraine had to give up large parts of its land and Putin emerged stronger from the situation. It is also clear that NATO should not be involved in this war as an active party – the global escalation would be unpredictable. It is also clear that the supply of weapons from the West must stop so that the Ukrainian army can continue to defend itself.

But will that be enough to push back the opponent, to weaken him, so that acceptable terms can be created for Ukraine at the negotiating table? It’s hard to imagine at the moment. Hopefully we’re wrong again.

Because this war – which is not least about defending democratic values ​​– must not end in the defeat of Ukraine.