The war in Ukraine is 1000 days old, with Moscow gaining ground every day and Kiev needing more soldiers

The war in Ukraine marks a thousand days this Tuesday, with Russia gaining ground in the east every day and the Ukrainian armed forces needing more soldiers, but with a significant change in the support they receive from the United States: the ability to use ATACMS missiles on Russian territory.

The ability to use these missiles, with a range of about 300 kilometers, was one of Kiev’s requirements to counter the Russian offensive. The chairman of the State Duma or Chamber of Deputies RussiaViacheslav Volodin has already warned that Western permission for Ukraine to use long-range missiles “will only worsen Ukraine’s fate and future.” The military conflict will be three years old in February.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke last Friday by telephone for the first time since 2022 with Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging him to end the war in Ukraine and open up to serious negotiations with Kiev to achieve a “just and lasting” peace. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the call as opening “Pandora’s box.”

Russia continues to advance in Donetsk

Since over a year ago Russia regained the initiative On the front, when the second Ukrainian counter-offensive failed without the expected results, Russian troops have not stopped their advance in the Donetsk region, in the east, although Moscow is still far from its goal of controlling the entire territory .

Russia’s most significant achievement in recent months was its seizure of the Russian Federation in early October Vugledar townin the southern part of Donetsk.

From there, Kremlin forces move north to encircle Ukrainian forces south Kurajovewhich is located next to the city Pokrovsk the main target of the Russian offensive, and they launch about 100 attacks per day on the Kurákhov and Pokrovsk axes.

Possible Russian offensive in Zaporizhia

Moreover, Ukraine has warned of Russian plans to launch an offensive in the southeastern province of Zaporizhia as well, which would put further pressure on Kiev’s defense line. However, it remains to be seen whether Russia has the ability to simultaneously exert pressure on another front.

According to data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in Washington, the Russian army has taken power 414 square kilometers in Octoberrepresenting the largest single-month gain of territory by Moscow since the summer of 2022.

While Kyiv recognizes these Russian advances, it insists they will happen at some point record price of human and material lossesand clings, as they have since the second year of the war, to the hope that the Kremlin will run out of people and equipment to make up for these casualties.

Part of Kursk remains under Ukrainian control

Fighting also continues in Russia’s Kursk region, where Kiev launched its most ambitious cross-border operation of the war last August and has since controlled part of the territory. More than three months after Ukrainian troops crossed the border, the Russian army has still not succeeded in expelling them from its territory.

The Ukrainian operation in Kursk tried to distract Russia of its campaign in eastern Ukraine and slow down the offensive, something that has not happened so far.

In this context, according to the South Korean, Ukrainian and Western intelligence services, Putin has approved the deployment in that border area of approximately 10,000 North Korean soldiersa possibility envisaged in the agreement on mutual assistance in case of aggression between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Uncertainty about Trump’s return

Despite the difficult situation on the front, the EU’s financial, military and humanitarian assistance and NATO’s continued support also partly explain Ukraine’s ability to resist Russia during these thousand days.

Senior diplomats from the community point out that we need to support Ukraine now more than ever, at a time of uncertainty following Republican Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, the EU has controlled Ukraine approx 108 billion euros in financial, humanitarian and military aid, and to meet the needs of the 4.3 million Ukrainians who have benefited from the temporary protection provided.

NATO, for its part, promoted a new command from a military base in Germany at its Washington summit in July to coordinate all military aid and international training missions for Ukrainian soldiers, as well as worthwhile military support to Ukraine. 40 billion of euros this year.