Two Years Since Russian Invasion: Can Ukraine Win?

Today marks the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, drawing media perspectives across the spectrum.

No, It Can’t: Anatol Lieven, writing for Time Magazine (Lean Left bias), highlighted the dire circumstances Ukraine finds itself in and argued it is impossible to achieve President Volodymyr Zelensky’s previously stated ambitions of taking back all occupied territories, no matter how long U.S. aid persists. He said a peace treaty would “undoubtedly involve some painful concessions” but would be better than a longer, slower defeat.

Yes, It Can: An opinion from The Telegraph (Lean Right bias) argued the “war can be won by Ukraine” and that “the West must come together to ensure that it is.” It called Washington and London’s past commitment to support Ukraine as both a “moral imperative” and “self-interest” and argued that if they allow “Putin to snuff out a democracy, it would embolden other autocratic regimes.”

At What Cost?: An analysis from Dominique Soguel of Christian Science Monitor (Center bias) concluded that “the war seems likely to grind on” and included what it deemed to be accurate statistics on the death tolls. The analysis highlighted independent Russian outlet Mediazona’s death toll for Russia of 43,500, and The Ukrainian Book of Memory project’s estimates of Ukrainian troop deaths of 24,500 dead and 15,000 missing.