That question leads to a second question "In whose eyes?" Of course, this parade may prove to be the high-water mark in the recent surge of Russian patriotism and Vladimir Putin’s approval ratings. This was evident when Vladimir Putin asked the separatists to postpone their referendums on May 11, only to be ignored. Eight weeks after Ukraine’s new government and pro-Russian separatists in the country’s east agreed to a cease-fire, the war continues to simmer. The notion that all of Ukraine can be pulled into a Western orientation now appears unrealistic and naïve. In the historic fight over the future of democracy in Ukraine, Kyiv is winning and the Kremlin is losing. Few Ukrainians would agree. On June 12, three T-72 tanks rolled through portions of eastern Ukraine. U.S. military and economic support for Ukraine has so far weathered the widening impeachment inquiry into President Trump’s contacts with Kyiv. Given that the separatists are armed with heavy weapons, and undoubtedly led by Russian special forces, the process would be bloody and costly. Moscow is also eager for a government that it can recognize, and one that could conclude the arrangements it desires. That question leads to a second question "In whose eyes?" Ukraine’s two far-right candidates polled less than 2 percent each, far less than the hard right polled in European Union parliamentary elections held on the same day. Ukraine, battling Russian-backed separatists, is the only European country at war. Passing laws about academic freedom while your country is being invaded might seem like fiddling while Rome burns, but this double act is at the heart of what is happening now in Ukraine. No matter what Russia breaks, it wants the West to keep it. Their ranks include oligarchs with checkered biographies and politicians who were members of past, failed governments. Because China does not participate in it, and while every other party can be affected by some sanctions, counter-sanctions and losses, China is not and actually gets some money from all sides. Pro-Russian Rebels Are Winning The East Ukraine War, But When Will They Stop? Their reign is a partial occupation, based on individual buildings their gunmen have seized and camped out in, and roadside checkpoints. In the eyes of the media, Ukraine is winning. We saw that first with the Maidan, where Ukrainians defied freezing weather, tanks and finally snipers to bring down their authoritarian regime. Even in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where civil society has historically been weakest, the Russian-led and -armed separatists haven’t managed to take over the local government, as their peers did in Crimea. Further Russian escalation is, of course, the great uncertainty, particularly this week, as Ukrainian forces close in on the Russian-led separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk and the Kremlin has masses troops on Ukraine’s border. They have no army, they have no equipment. The message was clear: Russia will ultimately prove victorious as it did in WWII, though it may have to go through great hardship in the interim. Russia’s natural preference is that Ukraine, and by implication, the West, continue to be responsible financially for whatever happens in the country. It is thus willing to support various frameworks for negotiations to keep the West occupied, and to watch Ukraine create a merry-go-round of counterterrorism operations that go nowhere. But both sides are still are their limits and rapidly losing strength. -- Kenneth Rapoza, Forbes. Absorbing Crimea is already a significant burden on the Russian state, likely to cost billions. On the frontline of Europe’s forgotten war in Ukraine Four years after Russia backed the cause of separatist rebels, the death toll stands at 10,000. For both Moscow and Kyiv, TV is the key to winning the hearts and minds of Ukrainians. The erstwhile Ukrainian president proved too weak and too unpopular to do the job, eventually opting to flee the country that had elected him less than four years earlier. Here's the question, not of the day, but of the month: Who's Winning the War in Ukraine? EU civilians (MH17), 2,600 Ukrainians, and who knows how many Russians lost their lives. But who is winning the ‘information war’? The remaining question is whether Russia’s efforts to improve its bargaining position in Ukraine and the interim government’s efforts to contain this sponsored separatism will lead to an escalation of the conflict. Ukraine’s political culture has no messianic or imperialist strain, and today building democracy at home is more than enough to keep the country’s leaders busy. The separate section contains list of wars involving Crimean Tatars' states. Ukraine is winning the war. Another important point to note is that Ukraine’s national consolidation includes its business elite. But, nearly invisibly, the war is also being waged along a third dimension: intelligence. Moscow does not want to support these regions. Answer May Shock You! For both Moscow and Kyiv, TV is the key to winning the hearts and minds of Ukrainians. May 25 is rapidly approaching, marking a period when the dynamic in Ukraine changes and the battle for influence with it. Is Russia Winning Ukraine 'War'? The fog of war, the ADHD of cable news and the smears of Russian propaganda have combined to obscure some important good news in this dismal summer. Is Russia outgunning Ukraine in the ‘information war’? It’s all about gas “Ukraine is winning the info war in the West,” Mark Galeotti—a professor of foreign affairs at New York University and an expert on Russia—told War … Ukraine may have chance to take lost … His efforts to provoke the Russian speakers of “Novorossia” into rebellion have instead strengthened their support for Ukraine, particularly in the crucial regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa and Kharkiv. That question leads to a second question “In whose eyes?” It also depends on the definition of “war“.And it also depends on the definition of “win“.And finally it depends on which media source you believe. Given this deep regional divide, contesting the legitimacy of the outcome would not be difficult for Moscow. Still, all of these long-term scenarios must be of little comfort to Ukraine, which is steadily descending into organized, and disorganized, chaos. Here’s the question, not of the day, but of the month: Who’s Winning the War in Ukraine? The Russo-Ukrainian War (Ukrainian: російсько-українська війна, romanized: rosiisko-ukrainska viina) is a protracted conflict between Russia and Ukraine that began in February 2014. Ukraine crisis: How Vladimir Putin is winning the psychological war. That question leads to a second question "In whose eyes?" His most effective campaign slogan—which appeared with no photo or visual image, just words, on billboards across the country — was “to stop the war, let’s elect a president on the first ballot.” Ukraine is normally a sort of Slavic Italy—a disputatious society that revels in political disagreement and debate. Who's Winning the War in Ukraine? Putin has sought to portray Ukraine as a failed state, and in his collaboration with Yanukovych he came close to making that rhetoric reality. This confounding juxtaposition of policy statements suggests that the only purpose to such operations is as a demonstration to the West that they are backing a government willing to fight for its territory, and able to confront Russian meddling. That is good news for Ukrainians, but also for Europeans, for the rest of the world—and ultimately for Russians, too. Ukrainians aren’t fighting only for their sovereignty—which would be good enough cause—they are fighting for what they call the new Ukraine, which they are simultaneously trying to build. This backing could strengthen Ukraine in … But will Putin invade? The little green men swiftly took control of the government and military infrastructure there. Ukraine’s second success is its unprecedented degree of national unity. The tragic paradox for Kyiv is that each democratic success has made it more vulnerable to a further Russian escalation. Western leaders have a serious problem on their hands. With two elections next year, Ukraine is facing upheaval on the domestic front. How did the war in Ukraine start? Its control over the two separatist regions is tentative at best. This is a young country swiftly uniting around the democratic idea in the face of foreign aggression. No to Capitulation!’ shouted an angry crowd outside Mr Zelensky’s presidential office this weekend. The Battle for Ukraine: Who Is Winning? That, of course, is what makes Ukraine doubly important. (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP) To understand if Putin will roll the dice and what that would mean, begin with one central fact—since November, when this crisis began, Putin has repeatedly misread Ukraine. Start with Yanukovych, Putin’s would-be authoritarian junior partner. Which is why the right parallel when thinking about how the West should respond to this crisis isn’t with the West’s past decade of military misadventures in the Middle East, it is with Eastern Europe in the 1980s, where civil society overthrew communist regimes and produced leaders who were, albeit with plenty of mistakes and hardship along the way, able to build capitalist democracies in their place. As the Dec. 9 meeting of the Normandy group tasked with resolving the war in Ukraine’s Donbass approaches, ... Ukraine needs to understand that winning the war … The first Western sympathies rest largely with Ukraine. (With the single exception of his takeover of Crimea, where Ukraine’s post-revolutionary disorganization, Putin’s unexpected lightning attack and the presence of the Black Sea Fleet made for a deceptively fast and easy victory.). Unfortunately, none of the actions Kyiv can take militarily are in Ukraine’s long-term interest. It is a measure of the gravity of the moment that Ukrainians accepted Poroshenko’s argument and, for the first time since independence, chose a president on the first ballot and with strong backing from across the country. Recent polling suggests that 63% of Ukrainians in the east believe the elections will be unfair, compared with 59% in the west, who have a positive outlook. That may sound like a simple question, but it isn't. The violence in Odessa demonstrated that it could certainly spread further, but also that in other Ukrainian cities, large segments of the population are not in favor of Russia’s agenda, and if Moscow presses the matter, it could result in uncontrollable violence. Ukraine’s military has thus far proven undependable, and appears to have been hollowed out of any serious operational capability. This is entirely about the Ukrainian people’s decision that they were no longer willing to live in an authoritarian kleptocracy—and the annexation and invasion of their territory that was the Kremlin’s response. Almost two years after the start of the conflict in Ukraine, it is clear that China, not Russia, is the real victor. It also depends on the definition of "war".And it also depends on the definition of "win".And finally it depends on which media source you believe. The dividing line in what Ukrainians call their “dignity revolution” is instead the choice between Western liberal democracy and the Kremlin’s neo-authoritarianism. Unfortunately for all of us, the Kremlin’s unrelenting aggression against Ukraine shows that Putin sees Ukraine’s democratic renaissance the way Skibinsky does. Yet in just five months, and in the face of occupation and annexation of its territory by its nuclear-armed neighbor, the Ukrainian state has started to rebuild and to develop an ambitious program of economic and political transformation. Is Russia outgunning Ukraine in the ‘information war’? California's road to recovery runs through D.C. Republicans, Why New Jersey’s ventilator guidelines may favor younger, whiter patients, Rhode Island ends specific restrictions on New Yorkers — by making them national, Weekly Education: Coronavirus Special Edition. It also depends on the definition of "war". -- Kenneth Rapoza, Forbes. Upon annexing Crimea, Vladimir Putin outlined the terms of a prospective deal on Ukraine: Russian-speaking regions are to be given autonomy so that Russia can retain its influence, and—by proxy—a vote over Ukraine’s strategic orientation. It just has to be strong enough to keep Russia from winning — that is, from embarking on a massive land war or compelling Ukraine by means of a costly war … In a recent interview, Verkhovna Rada Speaker Andriy Paraubiy said the European Union decision to extend sanctions against Russia for its aggression against Ukraine is a sign that Ukraine is winning the information war against Russia. They said the Alliance is winning on all fronts and were pretty confident they could end the war within weeks. Units from the newly annexed Republic of Crimea were near the forefront of the parade. Ukraine’s third success is the consolidation of its post-revolutionary government. It also depends on the definition of "war". The fight in the Donbass is a continuation of the battle against a liberal Russia that Putin began when he arrived in the Kremlin in 2000. The increasing pressure that he thought would disperse the Maidan instead inspired ever greater resolve, ending with a willingness to march directly into sniper fire. But Ukrainians have now seen both Western democracy and Putin’s post-Soviet kleptocracy up close. It’s all about gas “Ukraine is winning the info war in the West,” Mark Galeotti—a professor of foreign affairs at New York University and an expert on Russia—told War … And what does " winning " mean? I don't think this is some utopia," Andrukhovych told Novoye Vremya Strany. And it also depends on the definition of "win". ... launch an offensive and is leading many to question whether Ukraine has sufficient forces to fight a more free-wheeling war in the east. Chrystia Freeland: Ukraine is winning the war The fog of war, the ADHD of cable news and the smears of Russian propaganda have combined to obscure some important good news in this dismal summer. That may sound like a simple question, but it isn't. 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