171War and history: Russia, Ukraine and the problem of historical comparison
Year: 2025

War and history: Russia, Ukraine and the problem of historical comparisonIn the post-1945 era, no war in Europe has matched Russia's invasion of Ukraine in scale or lethality.Russia's aggression far outstrips even the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, 1 with well over ten million displaced persons and refugees, a front line spanning over 1,000 kilometres and probably more than 150,000 dead after two and a half years, including at least 10,000 killed and 21,000 wounded civilians. 2 It is hardly surpris