Four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we have crossed a grim and revealing milestone. The war has now lasted longer than the Soviet Union’s own Second World War experience – the so-called Great Patriotic War, which cost 26 million Soviet lives. That comparison is not about equating conflicts; it is a reminder of the sheer duration and weight of the present war, and how deeply it has already reshaped the global security landscape.

In objective terms, Putin has already lost, which he will never accept as such. His life history is one of playing for time, doubling down, conceding nothing, counting on a long war to wear Ukraine down.

When historians look back on this Russian aggression of choice, they may well credit Putin for assuring the unity and success of the Ukrainian nation. Hopefully, they will record how Ukraine’s democratic allies – Europeans, Canadians, others – stepped up to the maximum to support Ukrainian resilience, financially, militarily, and in postwar reconstruction, rehabilitation and partnership.

What stays with me most from those early months is the extraordinary, heroic defence mounted by Ukrainians – how they shattered Moscow’s expectation that Kyiv would fall in days. That moment was marked by a wave of solidarity, blue-and-yellow flags in windows, and a sense that the democratic world was united. But over time, even war becomes normalized, at least for those far away.

Ukraine’s successful resistance reaffirms World War II’s legacy of defending sovereignty and serves as a future deterrent against forceful invasions of neighbors – a principle Russia has violated. History will need to grapple with the United States’ troubling shift from championing Ukrainian freedom to a more passive stance amid Russia’s aggression, seemingly prioritizing narrow economic interests over democratic values.

On this anniversary, the focus remains on Ukraine’s ongoing struggle and national unity in the face of Russia’s........

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