When Russia's army attacked Ukraine on Vladimir Putin's orders on February 24, 2022, many expected a quick Russian victory.
But things turned out differently.
After 100 days of war, a lot has changed.
»Unfortunately, the turning point as a term is already a bit worn out after the 100 days.
But it is and will remain one," says Mathieu von Rohr, head of the SPIEGEL foreign departments in the podcast.
"On the one hand, of course, simply because Putin started this war - on this scale, in the middle of Europe."
In this episode of the foreign podcast »Eight Billion«, host Olaf Heuser and Mathieu von Rohr talk about the first 100 days of war in Ukraine: What lessons have Europe and the world gained?
Which decisive events changed the course of the war?
And what does the Russian concentration on the east of Ukraine mean for the further course of the war?
In Ukraine, Russian weapons are no longer aimed at the capital Kyiv and other targets across the country.
In the meantime, the war in the east of the country has become firmly entrenched.
The Ukrainian defenders are finding themselves increasingly under pressure there, having put up a resistance that few expected.
And Russia's feared armed forces have made so many tactical and logistical mistakes that military experts are baffled to correct their assessments.
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Weapons for Ukraine: Europe's disappointment with the procrastinating GermansBy Markus Becker, Brussels
Outside the country, Putin's attack on the world order has not yet led to the feared destabilization of the West;
on the contrary, NATO and the EU are more united than ever on Russian aggression – despite ongoing debates about arms deliveries and fuel embargoes.
Only the attitude of the federal government of Olaf Scholz is still a mystery.
The world was shocked by the fact that Russia, for imperialist motives, launched an illegal attack on its neighboring country in the middle of Europe in 2022.
And led to further insights that the western alliances have to deal with.
"
I think the alliance partners in Europe and NATO have understood that they have to defend themselves in a completely different way, that they have to prepare for war in a completely different way than before," says Mathieu von Rohr in the podcast.
“And that it's also about defending our freedom.
I think we've realized how threatened this world we live in is.
This is, so to speak, the second part of the turning point
«.
Listen to the current episode here: