The Independent: 150 days after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, what does the future hold?

The British Independent newspaper published a

on the war in Ukraine on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of its beginning on February 24, in which it talks about the balance of military power between the two warring parties, the factors of economic and political power of each of them, and their expectations for its outcome.

The report says that the Russian forces have shown a clear superiority in the past months, but Western weapons make a big difference in the interests of the Ukrainians, but they do not expect an end to the war soon.

The report shows that the rate of casualties among Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine in the past months has been appalling: more than 100 soldiers are killed every day, with an average of about 350 wounded.

The superiority of the Russian forces

The report adds that the Russian forces were superior to the Ukrainians, who are being bombarded from a distance beyond the range of their artillery and missiles.

In addition to the shortage of long-range weapons, there is an acute shortage of ammunition;

For every 10 Russian attacks, Ukrainian forces respond with only 3 or 4 attacks.

Official figures show, according to Kyiv, that the Ukrainians fire 6,000 shells per day, compared to 20,000 shells fired by the Russians.

The HIMARS system is one of the advanced weapons systems that Ukraine acquired from the United States (Associated Press)

Western weapons of Ukraine

At the same time, Western artillery and missiles began to come in larger numbers, the report says, giving the Ukrainians an opportunity to resist.

In addition to 12 American and British Himars rocket launchers, there are American and French 155-mm howitzers, and more Javelin, Milan and Enlow anti-tank missiles. Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.

Washington is set to send Phoenix Ghost "suicide" drones, and more Turkish Bayraktar drones, and the US House of Representatives has approved $100 million to train Ukrainian pilots to fly. Advanced warplanes, and this opens the possibility of providing "F-15" and "F-16" fighters for use in the conflict.

The "Independent" says that the next few months will tell if these Western weapons can help turn the situation around, and it appears that the next phase of the Russian offensive will most likely include an attempt to seize the remaining cities in the eastern and southern regions.

Western sanctions

And about Western sanctions against Russia, the newspaper says that, without a doubt, they affected the Russian economy, but they failed to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from adding $100 billion to the war fund in the first 100 days of the invasion.

The massive influx of money came from sales of energy products, with Moscow benefiting from the sharp rise in prices and the sale of heavily discounted oil to major buyers such as China and India.

She pointed out that Russia sought to strengthen relations outside the West through a series of talks with Beijing and the "BRICS" group consisting of Brazil, Russia, China and India, and Putin's visit to Iran to meet its President Ibrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Putin also met Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who gave his support for the invasion of Ukraine in a much stronger endorsement than that of China or any other major country.

Russian fuel pressures for Europe

Meanwhile, The Independent continues, saying that rising energy prices for consumers in Europe, and the threat that Moscow may cut off gas supplies as winter approaches, could drain some of the big support Ukraine has enjoyed so far in the West.

She says that the Ukrainians can see the dangers awaiting them, and the Kremlin will try to get Western governments, many of whom are facing a worsening economic and political situation, to pressure Kyiv to accept a cease-fire, leaving large swathes of Ukrainian territory in the hands of Russia.

The Russians want Ukraine to accept the status quo, the loss of sovereign territory, and some kind of deal, and they will use the cease-fire to regroup, rearm, and then resume their "aggressive" war.

It seems far from the end

The report concludes that Western weapons make a big difference in supporting Ukraine's defense, as there has been no noticeable Russian advance in Donbass in the past week.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Volodymyr Havrilov was quoted as saying that anti-ship missiles will be used to strike the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

The Russians are currently moving some of their ships from the Crimean base in Sevastopol to a safer location in Novorossiysk in southern Russia.

However, The Independent concludes with statements from Ukrainian military officials that this bloody and unusual war seems far from over.