There have been over 410,000 victims among the ranks of the Russian armed forces in two years of war. It was February 24, 2022: that night vehicles and soldiers of the Moscow armed forces penetrated enemy territory, for what was supposed to be a "flash conflict", which should have led to the capture of the capital Kiev and the replacement of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky with a pro-Russian executive. None of this has happened and peace is far away.

It all started on the evening of February 21, 2022. Shortly after 8:00 pm Italian time, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a speech addressed to the nation, which laid the foundations of the "Special Operation" in Ukraine, whose main objective was the recognition of the two breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. On February 22 and 23, the West, after failed attempts to negotiate with the Kremlin, imposed economic sanctions against Russia. For Putin a provocation that pushed him to take action. And so on February 24, at 3:00 am, Ukrainian airspace was closed, while Russian aircraft and military vehicles invaded the country.

During the second year of the war, much seems to have changed: in February 2023, more than 25% of Ukrainians and many experts on international affairs were convinced that the war would end by the end of the year. Today, almost 50% think that the fighting will last at least until 2025 and that it is necessary to negotiate with Putin to achieve peace.

Today, like yesterday, many believe that the intervention of China and the United States will be decisive in finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict. This second anniversary of the war will pass marked by contradictions. The world always appears to be divided into blocs, as demonstrated by the vote on the United Nations (UN) resolution which condemned the illegal annexations of Ukrainian territories to the Russian Federation: 143 countries in favour, 5 against, 35 abstentions, including two superpowers such as China and India. The crisis in the Middle East is part of all this and, together with the war in Ukraine, is a central topic in the American election campaign. The next governments in Washington and Beijing grappling with a strong internal economic crisis could provide a turning point.