Past, present and future of Ukraine: this is how the country was before the war and how it has changed

Before the explosions upended the lives of Ukrainians, this was their situation: Russia had annexed the Crimea region since 2014 and controlled the breakaway Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. However, 339 days later, the war has completely changed the country. After a rapid advance of the Russian troops, reaching cities like Kharkiv, Mykolaiv or Zaporiyia, the Ukrainian Army launched a strong counteroffensive and they managed to recover key cities like Kherson, after which the Russian Army entrenched itself on the east side of the Dnieper River. In this sense, Ruth Ferrero, professor of Political Science at the Complutense University, points out that “it becomes very difficult for Ukrainian soldiers to cross that natural border.”

The war front stretches from the mouth of the river in the south to the north of the Lugansk province. It is precisely there where the fighting, intensifyingespecially, in strategic cities like Bakhmut and Valadhar.

In the coming weeks, the confrontation will become more serious, and Russia plans a major offensive in spring. “The south of the country has become the thermometer for being able to say which country is coming out stronger from this war,” points out Jesús Manuel Pérez, Security and Defense analyst.

Given their superior numbers and troops, Ukraine seeks arms reinforcement against the clock from the West: tanks, combat planes and long-range missiles, although they will not be enough, according to Jesús Manuel Pérez, who affirms that “it will be necessary to build minefields and cross trenches, which means sapper material”.

The duration of the conflict will depend on the speed with which the sending of battle tanks occurs. Thus, the war could be prolonged in time, benefiting two countries in particular: “China because, in this way, it makes Russia much more economically dependent on it, and the US because it allows Russia to focus its attention on Ukraine in military terms,” ​​Ruth Ferrero underlines. Analysts agree that Ukraine alone will determine the duration of the war, either by fighting and regaining ground, or by sitting down to the negotiating table.

More than 60% of the polls are in favor of sending tanks to Ukraine

After Germany’s announcement to allow the shipment of its Leopard tanks to Ukraine, we asked the Spanish and, according to the laSexta barometer, a majority of those surveyed, above 60%, you are in favor of shippingwhile 37% oppose it.

In addition, close to 60% are in favor of Spain being one of the countries that sends Leopard battle tanks and tanks, while 40% are opposed. In this sense, the majority of 55% believes that the measure should be approved by Parliament as some groups have requested. On the other hand, for 44% it is the Government that must approve the shipment.

The support of the Spanish goes beyond the shipment of war material. And it is that 55% of those surveyed are in favor of sending even Spanish troops to the conflict, although 44% oppose it. They are data from the Invymark Institute.