Picture 1: War in Ukraine, 2022

Picture 2: World War 1, 1914-1918

The similarities are uncanny.

Although there are more than a 100 years between picture 1 and 2, it seems that nothing has changed. Trenches are still trenches, the men in the trenches are suffering and they are there for a pointless war.

Trench warfare is back as the weather has been getting worse and Russia has become too weak to mount any serious attack after 9 months of their invasion. The Russian tactic now seems to be to dig in, defend their gains, bomb the electricity and water supply of all civilians and hope for protests that lead to surrender.

This will never happen. The Ukrainians have shown great spirit and defiance and will never give an inch of land to Russia. And although the Ukrainian people are suffering because of the water and heating situation, the Winter is also their ally now.

The Russian soldiers are not well equipped. Decades of corruption has led to small stockpiles of outdated winter clothing. They have no proper gear to stay warm when the winter really kicks in and many soldiers will face hypothermia. Morale will be very low, casualties will be high and this could lead to protests by Russian soldiers.

Although Russia is the clear aggressor, I do feel pity for the many mobilized and conscripted Russian soldiers who are forced to fight and live in these terrible conditions. Like in WW1, fathers, sons, brothers, teachers, workers and farmers are fighting a pointless war for the crazy ambition of politicians. In this case Putin and his inner circle.

If you would like to get a clear image of the horrors of World War 1 and war in general, check out 'All quiet on the Western front' on Netflix or read the book by Erich Maria Remarque. 

Originally posted on Instagram on November 27, 2022