Historian Explained Why the War in Ukraine is Similar to World War I 0 11

There are no signs that the war in Ukraine will end in the near future, particularly not by 2026. This opinion was expressed by historian and professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University Yaroslav Hrytsak in an interview with Radio NV.

He noted that the current Russian-Ukrainian war can be compared to World War I.

"Here we have a parallel. There are less than six months left until this war lasts exactly as long as World War I did. And here we need to understand the logic. Such wars of attrition end with the collapse of one side or even both, as in the case of World War I, when all the major empires on the Eastern Front collapsed: both the Russian, the Austrian, and the German," he explained. According to Hrytsak, there is currently no sign of either Russia's collapse or Ukraine's collapse, despite the fact that the situation in Ukraine "is not good, perhaps even worse than in Russia."

"But there is no sign of collapse anywhere. Therefore, I do not see that this war can end quickly. Of course, I would very much like to be wrong, but there is a general tendency that historians know: if a war does not end in the first six months, it can drag on for a very long time. How long - no one knows," the historian emphasized.

Moreover, he claims that research shows a clear trend: the longer society endures certain trials, the more resilient it becomes:

"People get used to it, and for them, war becomes the new norm... Ukrainian society demonstrates remarkable, I emphasize, remarkable resilience, that is, the ability to continue standing. How long this will last - no one can say, because this is an unpredictable situation, but at least we accept it as it is. And this is very good news."

Ending the War in Ukraine: Other Assessments

Earlier, former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny responded to how the war in Ukraine will end. In his opinion, the most likely scenario will be its freezing for several years, during which the parties will prepare for a new round of military confrontation. "War does not always end with one side's victory and the other's defeat. This was the case in World War II, but this is a rare exception, because it has almost never happened in human history. The overwhelming majority of wars end either in mutual defeat, or each side believes it has won, or other options," Zaluzhny noted.

Historian Yaroslav Hrytsak previously stated that we are in the final phase of the war against Russia. At the same time, it is unknown how long this phase may last. The fact that there are attempts at negotiations already says something, he believes.