“When will the Russian-Ukrainian war end?” Is there an answer to this question

The multifaceted nature of the Russian-Ukrainian war: front, terror and propaganda
A few days before the fourth anniversary of the start of Russia’s major offensive on Ukraine, an explosion occurred in the very center of Lviv, which law enforcement agencies classified as a terrorist act.
What happened once again reminded us of the multifaceted nature of the Russian-Ukrainian war, that it cannot be reduced solely to a clash of armies. After all, the war with Ukraine is being waged by a state whose power is monopolized by special services – the successors of the former USSR State Security Committee, which in new historical conditions exists under the banner of the Federal Security Service and the Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia. But the main institution that the KGB received was the position of the President of Russia. The main function of the country, which the Chekists have always dreamed of: what security guard does not want to occupy the chair of his own “object”!
It is necessary to understand that the Chekist war is different from the war of the generals. Yes, the Kremlin would, of course, like the army to simply occupy the entire territory of Ukraine and allow the FSB to carry out the procedures of “filtration” and “identification of the enemy”. But when the army, which is one of Putin’s tools for achieving the goal, fails, this does not mean that the FSB calms down and waits for the result of military actions.
Destabilizing an enemy country through terror is one of the important factors in favor of the army, because it allows the population of such a country to be kept in constant tension, eliminate unwanted politicians and activists and create new dividing lines. By the way, when we talk about an enemy country, we would like to recall that for the FSB leadership, Russia itself was such a country at a certain time - when there were still feelings in its society related to the demand for a normal human life. The army was at war in Chechnya, and the Chekists were carrying out terror and blowing up buildings in Moscow and other Russian cities, killing opposition politicians and journalists, and therefore “working”.
Another important factor in the conquest of Ukraine is political propaganda. Until 2014, this was done by Russian television, along with TV channels close to the Ukrainian authorities and oligarchs, such as Inter or 1+1, and remained the main source of information for many Ukrainians. It was this television that contributed to the victory in the presidential elections of Leonid Kuchma in 1994 and Viktor Yanukovych in 2010, therefore it really helped to degrade Ukrainian society and keep Ukraine in the "gray zone" of Russian influence. After 2014, Russian television was replaced by Medvedchuk's channels, and after 2022, anonymous Telegram channels began to play an equally important role in the "debilitation" of Ukrainians, and now we see a new trend - the Russians will enter the Ukrainian market with the help of right-wing radicals from the West. And formally we will see the exposure of some American or European media, but, in fact, it will be the same FSB.
Another important factor of influence is economic dictate with bribery not only of those in power and the oligarchs, but also of the population itself, which always forgets the proverb about the mousetrap and cheap cheese, sorry, gas. It was with the help of gas that they tried to hold Ukraine back and prevent its turn towards the West back in the time of Boris Yeltsin, and Putin was already ready for open blackmail, which only intensified after the Maidan in 2004 and the victory in the presidential elections of Viktor Yushchenko. And no one said that Russia would not use economic instruments in the future, and moreover, even if we imagine a still unrealistic situation with the cessation of hostilities in the foreseeable future, the Kremlin will try to incorporate the instruments of economic dictate into any peace agreement. Of course, with the help of the US administration, in which even at the level of Vice President J.D. Vance they spoke about the importance of trade between Russia and Ukraine. How not to use such a vision of the situation?
The list of all these tools convinces that when asked "when will the Russian-Ukrainian war end?" There can be only one correct answer – never. As long as the Russians believe that the statehood of Ukraine must be liquidated, and the Ukrainian people – abolished, the conflict will continue at several levels of escalation at once, even if Moscow does not have enough forces for intensive military actions. It is for such a development that both those citizens of Ukraine living at home and those who find themselves in a foreign country should prepare.
Because the preservation of the state and the Ukrainian people in the conditions of a long war, terror, propaganda and economic pressure will remain the main task. And the years of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict – starting even with the Maidan of 2013–2014. and the Russian invasion of Crimea and Donbass – have shown that such a task can be overcome even in the most difficult moments, of course, if unity, common sense and a realistic understanding of the situation are maintained.