UKRAINE-ONE YEAR OF WAR/Analyst Radu Magdin: Russia's war against Ukraine hasn't reach any objective

Foreign affairs analyst Radu Magdin believes that the war of aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine has not achieved any of the political, military or strategic objectives initially announced, or even later, after the "recalibration" of the discourse in Moscow, especially for the internal consumption.

"Russia has already suffered an irreversible political defeat, with massive losses. And it continues with this unsustainable strategy in the medium and long run, because each authoritarian leader is aware that there is a limit to which you can send people to sacrifice on the battlefield, as well as a limit to which you can pretend that western sanctions against your country have no effect. The effects of all measures taken by the international community, be they political, economic or military, can already be seen, despite the opacity of Russia or the propaganda it maintains inside and outside its borders," Radu Magdin told AGERPRES.

He said that "the long-awaited winter offensive of Russia did not result in any important military results, but only in a number of minor, rather symbolic victories, while president Putin did not mention, in his speech on February 21, no new and significant military operation."

"Overall, the war seems to have now entered a balanced phase, and this is the point where Ukraine must be supported more and more, from all points of view, including military. The security of Ukraine is essential for the security of the whole Euro-Atlantic world, and a victory of Ukraine will sent a clear message to Russia and other authoritarian powers that the times when they could reach their goals internationally by force is over," said the political analyst.

In the analyst's opinion, new attempts to attack Kyiv cannot be excluded yet, but we can no longer talk about the same Ukraine as early as last year.

"Unfortunately, no scenario can be excluded when it comes to Russia, which means that we cannot exclude new attempts to attack Kiev, especially if we look at how Russia uses the territory of Belarus for military purposes. The further development will depend much on the way Moscow and Vladimir Putin draw their goals at the level of internal politics. At the same time, Kyiv and his leaders have gained a support and confidence without precedent at the transatlantic level, a fact proven including symbolically, by the recent visit of president Joe Biden, so I don't think we can talk about the "conquest of Kyiv" or the fall of president Zelensky. What is clear to the entire the world is that we are not talking about the same Ukraine as in the beginning of last year, but about a better trained, more used to this war and more aware of its stakes," explained Radu Magdin.

According to the foreign affairs analyst, the support of Ukraine by the West in this war is also an "investment" in the security of Romania in the medium and long run.

"I believe that Romania, in the light of last year's developments, benefits from a strengthened security, a much greater deterrence capacity and that this process will continue, especially when the Alliance has acknowledged Russia as the most severe threat to its security. I believe, at the same time, that Romania can continue to increase its influence and profile at the NATO level, both in practical terms and in terms of strategic communication, of the perceptions about our country, as a real security supplier in the region," the political analyst pointed out.

Referring to the recent developments in respect to the Republic of Moldova, Radu Magdin believes that Russia no longer has the advantage and strategic influence in and from Transnistria, but that we should not underestimate the risk such as violating the air space or attempts to destabilize the neighbouring country in political terms.

For these reasons, the political analyst thinks that president Maia Sandu has correctly supported her country's case in discussions with various international partners.

Asked about the recent statements of the VP of the United States, Kamala Harris, about "crimes against humanity" committed by Russia, the foreign policy analyst showed that president Joe Biden and the representatives of the American administration also spoke before about the atrocities committed by the Russian Army on the civilian population in Ukraine.

Radu Magdin considers "important" that there are "clear messages" from the European Union regarding the requests of Ukraine to create a special court and to confiscate the Russian assets and to bring to this high international court of the responsible of the war against Ukraine.

Regarding the conditions in which one can talk about an armistice, Radu Magdin said that "it is up to Ukraine to choose its road further in this war."