It is time for Ukraine to decide for itself and clearly state to its partners how this war should end, influential political commentator and host of CNN Fareed Zakaria writes for The Washington Post. Referring to Gideon Rose, a specialist in international relations and author of How Wars End, Zakaria writes that wars usually have three stages. The first is the rapid advance of one side, when the front line is moving fast and events are developing dramatically. If the other side has time to recover and mobilize for resistance, the second stage begins ― stabilization of the front and bogged fighting. Ukraine is at this stage now. During this period, neither side can win and is not ready to surrender. They often refuse to negotiate, trying to take a more favorable position. And finally, the third stage begins. Either the confrontation lasts indefinitely ― as in the case of the Korean War, or one side manages to gather enough resources to win a clear victory ― as happened with the Allies and the Soviet Union in World War II. The war in Ukraine will soon move to the third stage, and if Ukraine sets realistic goals and builds its further rhetoric on them, there is a good chance that the Western allies will support Kyiv just enough to accomplish them. Ukrainians are seeking at least the return of all territories seized by Russia since 2014. However, according to Zakaria, a more realistic goal would be to return to the actual situation by February 24. This tit in the hands is better than a crane in the sky for one reason: if the war turns into an endless one, the Ukrainian economy with Russian-blocked ports is much less likely to hold on than Russiaʼs economy, which this year due to rising fuel prices has earned more than for the same period last year.
"The Soviet sphere of influence is dead — and it will not be resurrected by force" ― such a message, according to Politico journalists, brought a visit to Kyiv by the leaders of the three most powerful EU economies: Germany, France, and Italy. Journalists were relieved that neither Scholz nor Macron of Draghi were pressuring Ukraine to make concessions that Kyiv had to make to end the war sooner, that is, how much of its territory Ukraine should give to Russia. At least the words of European leaders at the press conference after the talks showed that Kyiv will decide for itself how to repel the Russian attack, and Europe will lend a hand to Ukrainians. The journalists also praised the words of the visitors about the desire to grant Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU membership. The Economist and Carnegie Europe also write that the European Union should do this to strengthen both itself and Ukraine.
The war has led to the departure of millions of Ukrainians from their hometowns, but there is a group of professionals who leave most actively because they are in demand and successful regardless of their location, writes The New York Times. We are talking about IT specialists, and the American publication tells about numerous companies that have organized a relocation for their employees ― the movement of entire teams abroad. This is especially easy for companies with offices in several countries ― for example, the Lithuanian game developer Nordcurrent has offices in Odesa and Vilnius. With the start of Russiaʼs full-scale aggression, the company evacuated "dozens of workers, three dogs and one guinea pig" from Ukraine. Such care is new for employers, the newspaper writes. However, it does not promise anything good for the Ukrainian economy, as the Ukrainian IT industry, which earned $6 billion a year before the war, is shrinking significantly.