Editorial - No end in sight

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There are anniversaries that you would rather not celebrate. For example, Russia's brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022, has now entered its fifth year. Four years in which hundreds of thousands of people have died on both sides and millions of Ukrainians have fled their homeland; the country lies largely in ruins, and people in the cities are enduring one of the coldest winters in year with scarcely any electricity or heating – and there is no end to the war in sight anytime soon.

Aggressor Putin periodically puts forward so-called peace proposals, but these contain unrealisable concessions for Ukraine that would amount to a dictated peace. And yes: while Russians and Ukrainians are negotiating a possible peace in Geneva, Putin continues to have the country relentlessly bombarded.

The fact that the Kremlin godfather and his puppets are more than miserable warlords ought by now to have dawned even on the most ardent Russia and Putin fans – who still seem to exist – but that is of little help to Ukraine. Originally, Moscow wanted to conquer the neighbouring country in a kind of Russian blitzkrieg, but that failed spectacularly, otherwise the vastly overpowering Russia would surely long since have defeated the much smaller Ukraine. What Putin failed to anticipate was the fierce resistance the Ukrainians have been mounting day after day for four years now.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has also had an enormous impact across the globe; since then, dictatorial states have increasingly been sending their opportunity; Europe is experiencing its gravest refugee crisis since the end of the Second World War; and everything military is booming again – there is even talk of reintroducing compulsory military service, something which in Luxembourg, thank goodness – Putin will be breathing a sigh of relief! – has once again been shelved.

The only sector with reason to celebrate since the war began is the defence industry, which has meanwhile gone from being something of a former pariah to an entirely respectable business partner for many. Even war bonds have suddenly become all the rage, at least here in Luxembourg: the Luxembourg Defence Bond sold out in no time at all.